HOW  TO  mow 

THE  BIBLE 


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DEC  30  1913 


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Division     BSS' 
Section     .H  fc8 


HOW  TO  KNOW  THE  BIBLE 


How  to  Know  the  Bible 


%  (      DEC  m  191? 

GEORGE  HODGEi 

Dean  of  the  Episcopal  Theological  School,  Cambridge,  Massacl 

Author  of 

EVERYMAN'S  RELIGION 

SAINTS  AND  HEROES 

Etc. 


£327 


INDIANAPOLIS 

THE  BOBBS-MERRILL  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright  1918 
The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company 


PRESS  OF 

BRAUNWORTH   &  CO. 

BOOK    MANUFACTURERS 

BROOKLYN,   N.  Y. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  The  Making  of  the  Bible 1 

II  The  Old  Testament  and  the  New  Spirit    ...  9 

III  What,  Then,  Is  Inspiration? 22 

IV  The  Pentateuchal  Alphabet 32 

V  Songs  and  Stories 49 

VI  The  Conquest  of  Canaan 69 

VII  The  Two  Histories 83 

VIII  The  Prophets  :    The  Assyrian  Period    ....  105 

IX  The  Prophets  :    The  Chaldean  Period  ....  127 

X  The  Prophets  :   After  the  Exile 152 

XI  The  Poets 168 

XII  The  Wise  Men 189 

XIII  Between  the  Testaments 213 

XIV  The  Recollections  of  St.  Peter 223 

XV  The  Records  of  St.  Matthew 237 

XVI  The  Writings  of  St.  Luke 250 

XVII  The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  I       .     .     .     .  264 

XVIII  The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  II     ...     .  279 

XIX  The  Later  Epistles  of  St.  Paul 296 

XX  The  Five  Sermons 309 

XXI  The  Johannine  Books 323 

XXII  The  Library  of  the  Grace  of  God 344 

Index        357 


HOW  TO  KNOW  THE  BIBLE 


How  To  Know  the 
Bible 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  BIBLE 

THE  Bible  is  in  everybody's  house,  and  is  the  most 
generally  read  and  studied  of  all  books,  but  it  is 
still  in  need  of  simple  explanation. 

This  is  partly  because  it  is  so  old,  the  latest  pages  of 
it  having  been  written  at  least  eighteen  hundred  years 
ago;  partly  because  it  is  a  library  rather  than  a  book, 
composed  by  various  writers,  in  various  literary  forms, 
in  widely  separated  countries,  and  during  a  period  of 
more  than  a  thousand  years;  and  partly  because  we 
read  it  in  a  translation  which  brings  the  sixty-six 
books  into  a  single  volume,  presents  them  without 
separate  title-pages,  makes  poetry  look  like  prose, 
shows  no  distinction  between  conversation  and  de- 
scription, and  deprives  the  reader  even  of  the  benefit 
of  paragraphs.  It  is  an  evidence  of  the  extraordinary 
interest  and  vitality  of  the  Bible  that  it  has  survived 
the  process  of  printing  it  in  detached  and  numbered 
sentences,  arranged  in  double-columned  pages  of  fine 
type.   A  better  knowledge  of  the  Bible  begins  with  the 

1 


2  HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

perception  of  order  and  variety  in  this  confusing  and 
depressing  appearance  of  monotony. 


It  is  plain,  at  the  first  glance,  that  the  Bible  is  in 
two  parts,  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  Every- 
body knows  that  the  Old  Testament  was  originally 
written  in  Hebrew,  and  that  it  contains  the  sacred 
scriptures  of  the  Jewish  religion;  and  that  the  New 
Testament,  which  contains  the  sacred  scriptures  of  the 
Christian  religion,  was  originally  written  in  Greek. 
The  two  are  bound  together  for  Christian  use  because 
the  first  Christians  came  out  of  Judaism,  and  brought 
their  books  with  them.  Each  of  these  parts  is  a  collec- 
tion of  books. 

The  Old  Testament  begins  with  the  five  writings 
called  the  Pentateuch:  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticiis, 
N limbers,  Deuteronomy.  They  give  an  account  of  the 
early  ancestors  of  the  Hebrew  people,  moving  out  of 
the  valleys  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  into  the  land 
between  the  Jordan  and  the  Mediterranean,  then  down 
into  Egypt  where  they  lived  long  in  slavery,  then 
escaping,  wandering  in  the  wilderness,  gradually  shap- 
ing their  political  and  religious  institutions.  They  con- 
tain the  codes  of  laws  in  which  the  details  of  these 
institutions  were  recorded. 

Two  following  books,  Joshua  and  Judges,  describe 
from  different  points  of  view  the  adventures  and  mis- 
adventures of  the  invasion,  conquest  and  settlement  of 
Canaan. 


THE    MAKING   OF   THE   BIBLE  3 

Then  come  two  series  of  histories,  each  in  five  vol- 
umes, each  beginning  with  the  foundation  of  the  mon- 
archy in  the  reign  of  Saul,  each  setting  forth  the 
glories  of  the  reigns  of  David  and  Solomon,  each  tell- 
ing how  the  kingdom  was  divided.  The  first  series, 
introduced  by  the  book  of  Ruth,  and  including  the 
two  books  of  Samuel  and  the  two  books  of  Kings, 
follows  the  fortunes  of  both  the  northern  and  the 
southern  kingdoms,  until  the  northern  ends  with  the 
fall  of  Samaria,  and  the  southern  ends  with  the  fall 
of  Jerusalem.  The  second  series,  to  which  the  book 
of  Esther  is  added,  includes  the  two  books  of  Chron- 
icles, with  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  It  is  concerned  with 
the  southern  kingdom  only,  whose  fortunes  it  follows 
into  the  exile  of  Babylon,  and  then  to  the  return  and 
restoration,  and  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem. 

After  these  histories,  there  are  f^Yt  books  of  poetry: 
Job,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes  (in  part  poetical) 
and  the  Song  of  Solomon,  And  then,  five  books  of 
what  used  to  be  called  prophecy,  but  is  now  called 
preaching.  Four  of  these  sermon-books,  Isaiah,  Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel,  Daniel,  are  of  considerable  length;  but 
the  fifth,  which  was  anciently  called  the  Book  of  the 
Twelve,  is  made  up  of  that  number  of  little  books. 

Thus  Joshua  and  Judges  are  the  only  interruption  in 
the  Old  Testament  sequence  of  fives :  five  books  of  the 
Pentateuch,  five  in  the  first  historical  series,  and  five 
in  the  second,  five  books  of  poetry  and  five  of  prophecy. 
The  Hebrews  liked  these  numerical  aids  to  memory, 
and  were  especially  fond  of  the  number  five,  which  is 
represented  by  the  hand. 


4  HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

The  New  Testament,  also,  is  five-fold :  first,  the  four 
lives  of  Christ;  then,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles;  then  a 
series  of  fourteen  letters,  all  of  them,  except  Hebrews, 
written  by  St.  Paul;  then  a  series  of  seven  letters, 
bearing  the  names  of  other  apostles;  the  whole  con- 
cluding with  the  Revelation. 

Each  of  these  collections,  Jewish  and  Christian,  con- 
tains books  concerning  which  there  was  much  doubt 
and  discussion.  Ecclesiastes,  which  in  several  places 
denies  the  immortality  of  the  soul;  the  Song  of  Solo- 
mon,  composed  of  lovers'  verses;  the  book  of  Esther, 
which  nowhere  mentions  even  the  name  of  God;  were 
thought  by  many  Jews  to  be  unworthy  of  a  place  in 
the  Old  Testament.  Many  Christians  were  of  a  like 
mind,  for  various  reasons,  concerning  the  inclusion  in 
the  New  Testament  of  the  Second  Epistle  of  Peter, 
the  Second  and  Third  Epistles  of  John,  the  Epistle  of 
James  and  the  Revelation. 

At  the  same  time  there  were  other  books  which 
many  good  people  desired  to  read  in  the  Bible,  but  to 
which  admission  was  finally  refused.  Fourteen  of 
these,  which  were  set  aside  in  the  completion  of  the 
Old  Testament,  appear  in  the  Apocrypha,  which  is 
printed  in  some  editions  of  the  Bible.  Notable  among 
them  are  the  First  Book  of  the  Maccabees,  the  history 
of  a  successful  revolt  of  the  Jews  against  the  Greeks; 
Ecclesiasticus,  a  book  of  wise  sayings;  and  an  addition 
to  the  book  of  Daniel  from  which  is  taken  the  hymn 
called  Benedicite,  which  is  still  sung  in  churches.  Just 
outside  of  the  New  Testament  are  the  Epistle  of  Bar- 
nabas, the  Gospel  of  the  Hebrews,  and  the  Shepherd 


THE    MAKING    OF    THE    BIBLE  5 

of  Hennas.  The  Old  Testament  list  was  completed  by 
the  time  of  the  Synod  of  Jamnia  in  90  A.  D. ;  the  New 
Testament  list  was  completed  by  the  time  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Carthage  in  397;  but  the  canon  of  scripture,  as 
it  is  called,  was  registered  rather  than  regulated  by 
these  assemblies.  The  books  of  the  Bible  owe  their 
place  in  the  collection  to  popular  approval.  These  are 
the  writings  which  were  most  liked  by  the  most  people. 


1.  Early  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  mention  is 
made  of  two  kinds  of  Jews  who  had  become  members 
of  the  Christian  society.  There  were  Hebrew  Jews, 
who  had  been  born  and  brought  up  in  Jerusalem,  or 
at  least  in  the  Holy  Land;  and  there  were  Grecian 
Jews,  who  had  been  bom  in  other  countries.  These 
Grecian  Jews  spoke  Greek.  Even  the  Hebrew  Jews 
did  not  speak  the  classic  Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, but  a  form  of  it  called  Aramaic;  the  books  which 
they  read  were  most  of  them  written  in  Greek.  It  was 
therefore  desirable  to  have  the  Bible  translated  out  of 
the  old  language  into  the  new.  This  was  done  in  Alex- 
andria, w^here  there  were  many  Grecian  Jews.  A  leg- 
end of  the  translation  says  that  a  king  of  Egypt  sent 
to  Judea  for  seventy-two  translators,  six  from  each 
tribe,  and  that  they  completed  the  work  in  seventy-two 
days.  An  echo  of  this  legend  remains  in  the  name  of 
the  Greek  version,  the  Septuagint.  The  fact  is,  how- 
ever, that  the  translation,  which  began  with  the  Pen- 
tateuch in  the  third  century  before  Christ,  proceeded 


6  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

so  slowly  that  the  last  books,  Ecclesiastes  and  Daniel^ 
did  not  appear  in  Greek  till  the  second  century  after 
Christ.  The  Septimgint  was  well  known,  so  far  as  it 
was  then  completed,  by  the  writers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

2.  The  New  Testament  writings,  added  to  the  Sep- 
tuagint,  made  a  Bible,  Jewish  and  Christian,  which 
met  the  needs  of  several  centuries.  The  Christians 
spoke  Greek.  When  St.  Paul  wrote  to  the  disciples 
even  in  Rome  he  wrote  in  Greek.  It  came  to  pass, 
however,  gradually,  with  the  growth  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  that  Greek  was  superseded  by  Latin,  and  there 
was  need  of  a  Latin  translation  of  the  Bible.  This  was 
made  at  the  end  of  the  third  century  by  St.  Jerome. 
He  began  it  in  Rome,  but  finished  it  in  Bethlehem.  His 
first  intention  was  to  revise  a  translation  which  had 
already  been  made  from  the  Greek,  but  this  he  put 
aside  and  made  his  version  directly  from  the  original 
languages.  The  wide  popularity  of  this  translation 
gave  it  its  name,  the  Vulgate.  It  was  universally  used 
throughout  the  Middle  Ages,  and  is  still  the  Bible  of 
the  Latin  Church. 

3.  One  of  the  effects  of  the  Reformation  in  the 
sixteenth  century  was  to  emphasize  the  importance  of 
nationality.  A  part  of  this  movement  was  the  ecclesi- 
astical separation  of  England  from  Rome.  An  incident 
of  this  separation  was  the  translation  of  the  Bible  into 
English. 

The  purpose  of  the  early  translators  of  the  Bible 
into  English  was  to  improve  the  religion  of  the  people, 
and  especially  to  show  them  that  the  superstitions, 


THE    MAKING    OF    THE    BIBLE  7 

complicated  ceremonies  and  clerical  tyrannies  of  the 
Middle  Ages  had  no  foundation  in  the  Scriptures. 
This  they  tried  to  do  not  only  by  translating  the  Bible 
into  plain  English  but  by  accompanying  the  text  with 
notes,  in  which  these  superstitions,  and  invasions  of 
simplicity  and  liberty,  were  roundly  denounced.  Thus 
these  English  versions  were  controversial  documents, 
and  were  naturally  resented  and  opposed  by  ecclesi- 
astical authorities  who  had  a  conservative  mind.  It 
was  for  this  reason  that  Bibles  were  publicly  burned 
by  bishops,  and  that  William  Tyndale,  the  chief  trans- 
lator of  the  Bible  into  English,  was  put  to  death. 

As  the  Reformation  progressed,  however,  it  was 
seen  that  the  spirit  of  nationalism  in  religion  would 
be  strengthened  by  the  reading  of  the  Bible  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  nation.  A  translation  by  Miles  Coverdale 
was  permitted  in  England.  Presently  a  combination  of 
the  work  of  Tyndale  and  the  work  of  Coverdale,  called 
the  Great  Bible,  was  set  forth  by  authority.  In  this 
Bible  the  translation  of  Tyndale  included  the  New 
Testament  and  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment; Coverdale  translated  the  books  of  poetry  and 
of  prophecy.  These  two  men  made  the  Bible  which  we 
read.  It  was  revised  in  1611  by  scholars  appointed  by 
King  James,  and  this  revision  was  revised  in  1881 
and  1885  by  scholars  whose  cooperation  was  invited 
by  the  Church  of  England.  The  revisers  brought  to 
their  tasks  the  improved  scholarship  of  their  day,  and 
made  many  corrections;  they  re-studied  the  Bible  in 
the  original  languages ;  but  the  resulting  translation  is 
still  substantially  the  Bible  of  Tyndale  and  Coverdale. 


8  HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

The  translation  which  is  used,  for  the  most  part,  in 
this  book  is  the  King  James  Version  as  paragraphed 
in  Everyman's  Library,  where  it  is  printed  in  five  con- 
venient volumes. 


II 


THE  OLD  TESTAMENT   AND  THE   NEW   SPIRIT 

THE  fact  that  some  of  the  Old  Testament  books 
were  admitted  with  hesitation,  after  doubt  and 
debate,  establishes  the  principle  of  inequality.  This  is 
an  inevitable  characteristic  of  all  collections:  every 
considerable  number  of  things  is  made  up  of  better  and 
worse.  They  may  all  be  good,  but  there  will  be  varying 
degrees  of  goodness. 

Thus  we  perceive  that  the  New  Testament  is  a  better 
teacher  of  religion  than  the  Old;  Samuel  and  Kings 
are  more  reliable  histories  than  Chronicles;  the  ser- 
mons of  Amos  and  Hosea  are  on  such  great  themes  as 
the  fear  and  love  of  God,  the  sermons  of  Haggai  and 
Malachi  are  about  such  lesser  matters  as  the  erection 
of  a  church  building  and  the  generous  support  of  the 
services. 

The  Bible  is  not  level,  like  a  desert;  it  is  full  of  hills 
and  valleys.  It  is  not  like  an  enclosed  garden,  with 
trim  beds  of  growing  things,  carefully  weeded,  and 
intersected  by  neatly  graveled  walks;  it  is  like  a  wide 
expanse  of  country;  with  farms,  but  also  with  forests 
in  which  there  is  thick  undergrowth  and  trunks  of 
fallen  trees;  with  land  partly  fertile,  but  partly  infer- 
tile; with  good  roads  between  populated  town  and 

9 


10  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

town,  but  also  with  abandoned  roads  still  marked  with 
old  deep  ruts  but  now  leading  nowhere.  The  Bible  is 
not  an  account  of  a  series  of  monotonous  centuries, 
like  the  annals  of  a  stagnant  people;  it  is  a  record  of 
progress,  out  of  ignorance  into  better  knowledge,  from 
lower  to  higher  ideals.  It  is  as  interesting  as  a  river, 
on  its  varied  way  from  the  mountains  to  the  sea.  The 
notion  of  a  Golden  Age  in  the  past  is  neither  Hebrew 
nor  Christian.  It  is  a  pagan  conception  of  a  decadent 
world.  In  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the  New,  the 
Golden  Age  is  in  the  future.  Men  are  looking  forward 
with  expectation  to  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  and 
then  to  his  coming  again.  The  redemption  of  mankind 
is  yet  to  be.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  to  be  continually 
prayed  for,  and  prepared  for. 

If  then  we  are  to  know  the  Bible  in  any  true  sense, 
we  must  begin  with  the  fact  that  it  is  a  record  of  prog- 
ress. We  are  thus  provided  with  answers  to  many 
hard  questions. 

I 

Some  of  these  questions  relate  to  a  conflict  between 
religion  and  science. 

A  few  years  ago  a  popular  antagonist  of  conven- 
tional religion  went  about  lecturing  on  the  Mistakes  of 
Moses.  He  took  his  material  from  the  errors  which 
he  found  in  the  first  five  books  of  the  Bible.  He  might 
have  made  a  similar  lecture  on  the  Mistakes  of  Plato, 
or  of  Julius  Caesar,  or  of  Thomas  Aquinas,  or  of  any- 
body else  who  lived  more  than  five  hundred  years  ago. 
The  dullest  child  in  the  grammar  school  knows  more 


THE   NEW   SPIRIT  11 

about  the  world  than  they  did.  But  the  significance  of 
the  lecture  was  in  a  theory  which  was  then  held  by 
many  people  to  the  effect  that  the  inclusion  of  the 
books  of  Moses  in  the  Bible  was  a  guarantee  of  the 
infallibility  of  Moses.  Science,  comparing  what  the 
world  says  about  itself  with  what  Moses  said  about  it, 
declared  that  Moses  was  in  error.  Religion  was  sup- 
posed to  claim  that  everything  which  Moses  said  was 
right.  There  were,  indeed,  apparent  errors,  but  they 
were  laboriously  explained  away. 

This  was  not  only  a  laborious  but  a  painful  process. 
In  their  zeal  to  maintain  the  inerrancy  of  Moses,  some 
Christian  scholars  seemed  to  be  like  those  lawyers  who 
are  intent  not  on  the  revelation  of  the  truth  but  on  the 
winning  of  their  case.  They  gained  the  whole  Penta- 
teuch at  the  peril  of  the  loss  of  their  own  soul. 

Meanwhile  the  Bible  itself  was  so  indifferent  to  the 
whole  matter  of  the  accuracy  of  the  Old  Testament 
account  of  the  making  of  the  world  that  it  offered  its 
readers  a  free  choice  between  two  quite  different  ac- 
counts. According  to  the  first  account  "the  earth  was 
without  form  and  void,  and  darkness  was  upon  the 
face  of  the  deep,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon 
the  face  of  the  waters" ;  then  came  stars  and  continents 
and  planets  and  animals  and  man.  In  the  second  ac- 
count, in  the  place  of  the  deep  there  is  a  desert,  "for 
the  Lord  God  had  not  caused  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth," 
only  "there  went  up  a  mist  from  the  earth  and  watered 
the  whole  face  of  the  ground" ;  then  came  trees,  and  a 
garden  in  Eden,  and  a  man  "to  dress  it  and  to  keep 
it,"  and  after  the  creation  of  man  "the  Lord  God 


12  HOW    TO    KNOW    THE   BIBLE 

formed  every  beast  of  the  field  and  every  fowl  of  the 
air." 

The  fallacy  at  the  heart  of  the  situation  was  the 
failure  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the  Old  Testament 
is  a  record  of  progress.  The  accounts  which  it  con- 
tains of  the  making  of  the  world  are  true  in  the  sense 
of  being  true  records  of  what  the  Hebrews  thought 
about  these  matters,  several  thousand  years  ago.  But 
mankind  would  be  dull  indeed  if  after  all  these  cen- 
turies of  residence  upon  this  planet  we  know  no  more 
about  it  than  was  known  a  thousand  years  before 
Christ  in  the  Mediterranean  provinces  of  Asia. 


n 


This  controversy  between  religion  and  science  was 
followed  by  a  much  more  serious  contention  between 
religion  and  morality. 

The  situation  was  this.  On  the  one  hand  was  re- 
ligion, requiring  complete  acceptance  of  the  Bible;  on 
the  other  hand  was  the  Old  Testament,  praising,  or 
at  least  allowing,  conduct  which  the  New  Testament 
condemned.  The  Old  Testament  said.  Hate  your  ene- 
mies, spoil  their  goods,  kill  them  and  their  wives  and 
children. 

Thus  in  the  Fifty-eighth  Psalm  we  are  instructed 
how  to  regard  the  wicked. 

Before  your  pots  can  feel  the  thorns, 

He  shall  take  them  away  as  with  a  whirlwind, 

Both  green,  and  burning. 

The  righteous  shall  rejoice  when  he  seeth  the  vengeance: 


THE    NEW    SPIRIT  13 

He  shall  wash  his  feet  in  the  blood  of  the  wicked. 

So  that  a  man  shall  say : — "Verily  there  is  a  reward  for 

the  righteous : 
Verily  he  is  a  God  that  judgeth  in  the  earth." 

The  desire  of  the  righteous  man  to  wash  his  footsteps 
in  the  blood  of  the  ungodly  appears  again  in  the  Sixty^ 
eighth  Psalm. 

The  Lord  said : — I  will  bring  again  from  Bashan, 

I  will  bring  my  people  again  from  the  depths  of  the  sea : 

That  thy   foot   may  be   dipped   in   the  blood   of   thine 

enemies, 
And  the  tongue  of  thy  dogs  in  the  same. 

So  also  in  the  malediction  of  the  Sixty-ninth  Psalm. 

And  when  they  are  in  peace,  let  it  become  a  trap. 
Let  their  eyes  be  darkened,  that  they  see  not ; 
And  make  their  loins  continually  to  shake. 
Pour  out  thine  indignation  upon  them. 
And  let  thy  wrathful  anger  take  hold  of  them. 
Let  their  habitation  be  desolate; 

At  the  end  of  the  Hundred-and-thirty-seventh  Psalm 
the  writer  speaks  his  mind  about  men  of  Edom  who 
laughed  when  Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  and  cried, 
"Down  with  it,  down  with  it,  even  to  the  ground." 

O  daughter  of  Babylon,  who  art  to  be  destroyed, 
Happy  shall  he  be  that  rewardeth  thee  as  thou  hast 

served  us. 
Happy  shall  he  be  that  taketh  and  dasheth  thy  little 

ones 
Against  the  stones. 

The  metrical  separation  of  the  last  words,  writing 
"Against  the  stones"  in  a  line  by  itself,  presents  with 


14  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

added  vividness  of  reality  this  act  of  supreme  retalia- 
tion. 

The  deepest  depths  of  these  imprecations  are  reached 
in  the  Hundred-and-ninth  Psalm,  where  the  petitions 

Let  his  days  be  few, 

And  let  another  take  his  office. 

Let  his  children  be  fatherless. 

And  his  wife  a  widow. 

Let  his  children  be  continually  vagabonds,  and 
beg : 

Let  them  seek  their  bread  also  out  of  their  deso- 
late places. 

Let  the  extortioner  catch  all  that  he  hath. 

And  let  the  strangers  spoil  his  labour. 

Let  there  be  none  to  extend  mercy  unto  him, 

Neither  let  there  be  any  to  favour  his  fatherless 
children. 

are  preceded  by  the  most  penetrating  and  comprehen- 
sive of  all  curses, 

And  let  his  prayer  become  sin. 

Even  when  he  prays,  in  bitter  misery,  or  in  repentance, 
turning  to  the  mercy  of  God,  "let  his  prayer  become 
sin!" 

This  vsras  the  attitude  of  the  Old  Testament  people 
even  toward  those  who  were  their  enemies  only  by  the 
accident  of  geography.  The  inhabitants  of  Canaan 
were  inoffensive  persons  who  had  the  misfortune  to 
live  in  a  part  of  the  country  which  the  Israelites  de- 
sired for  themselves.  But  when  the  army  of  Joshua 
took  Jericho,  "they  utterly  destroyed  all  that  was  in 
the  city,  both  man  and  woman,  young  and  old,  and 


THE   NEW    SPIRIT  15 

ox  and  sheep  and  ass,  with  the  edge  of  the  sword." 
(Joshim  6:21.)  So  did  the  army  which  the  prophet 
EHsha  led  against  the  land  of  Moab.  "The  Israelites 
rose  up  and  smote  the  Moabites,  so  that  they  fled  be- 
fore them;  but  they  went  forward  smiting  the  Moab- 
ites, even  in  their  own  country.  And  they  beat  down 
the  cities,  and  on  every  good  piece  of  land  cast  every 
man  his  stone  and  filled  it;  and  they  stopped  all  the 
wells  of  water,  and  felled  all  the  good  trees."  At  last 
the  king  of  Moab  took  his  eldest  son  and  burned  him 
alive  on  the  wall  as  a  last  desperate  prayer  for  help 
from  heaven  against  these  invaders  whose  war-cry  was 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord."    (//  Kings  3  :24-27.) 

This  was  the  most  diflicult  factor  in  the  problem  of 
those  who  were  trying  to  hold  the  inerrancy  of  the  Old 
Testament  along  with  its  morality.  They  were  greatly 
troubled  by  the  confident  assertion  of  the  people  of 
Israel  that  they  did  these  things  by  the  command  of 
God.  When  the  light  of  the  New  Testament  was  cast 
upon  these  pages,  there  were  Christians  in  the  early 
church  who  were  so  offended  that  they  entered  readily 
into  a  heresy  which  affirmed  that  the  God  of  the  Old 
Testament  was  an  evil  God. 

But  the  solution  of  the  conflict  between  religion  and 
morality  is  like  the  solution  of  the  conflict  between 
religion  and  science,  in  the  fact  that  the  Old  Testament 
is  a  record  of  progress.  It  is  a  frank  and  honest  state- 
ment of  the  stages  through  which  the  Hebrew  people 
passed  on  their  way  toward  better  civilization  and 
better  religion.  These  things  they  did,  coming  as  wild 
men  from  the  wilderness,  because  they  knew  no  better. 


16      '   HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

They  said  in  all  sincerity  that  they  did  these  things 
because  they  were  bidden  of  God,  acting  according  to 
the  best  understanding  which  they  then  had.  They 
said,  *T  heard  the  voice  of  God  speaking  in  my  soul, 
and  God  told  me  to  do  this  and  that."  They  went  and 
did  it,  in  obedience,  as  they  believed,  to  God.  But  we 
examine  what  they  did  in  the  light  of  the  disclosure 
of  the  divine  will  in  the  New  Testament,  and  we  see 
that  they  were  tragically  mistaken.  The  thoughts  of 
their  hearts  and  the  works  of  their  hands  show  how 
long  ago  they  lived,  and  out  of  what  depths  mankind 
has  slowly  and  painfully  climbed  to  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount. 

Ill 

The  principle  of  progress  in  the  Bible,  and  the  fact 
of  inequality  in  its  moral  values,  appear  in  the  sig- 
nificant words  in  which  Jesus  rebuked  James  and  John 
for  proposing  to  follow  the  example  of  Elijah. 

They  were  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem.  The  nearest 
road  ran  through  Samaria.  Upon  this  road  they 
started,  and  sent  messengers  to  the  next  village  to 
arrange  for  food  and  lodging.  The  messengers  re- 
turned and  reported  that  neither  food  nor  lodging 
could  be  had.  So  strong  was  the  feeling  against  Jews 
in  this  Samaritan  community  that  the  people  were  im- 
willing  to  extend  any  hospitality  whatsoever  to  any- 
body who  was  going  to  the  Jewish  capital  to  attend  a 
Jewish  feast.  Thereupon  James  and  John,  whom  Jesus 
had  already  called  "Sons  of  Thunder,"  proposed  to 
him  that  they  should  pray  for  lightning.  "  *Lord,  wilt 


THE    NEW    SPIRIT  17 

thou  that  we  command  fire  to  come  down  from  heaven 
and  consume  them,  even  as  Elijah  did?'  But  he  turned 
and  rebuked  them,  saying,  *Ye  know  not  what  spirit 
ye  are  of.  For  the  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  destroy 
men's  Hves,  but  to  save  them.'  And  they  went  to  an- 
other village." 

The  disciples  did  not  understand  it.  They  perceived, 
indeed,  that  they  were  not  at  that  moment  to  summon 
the  artillery  of  heaven,  and  they  went  with  their  mas- 
ter to  another  village,  but  they  did  not  comprehend  the 
full  consequence  of  his  admonition.  They  did  not 
realize  the  bearing  of  his  words  on  their  general  rela- 
tion to  the  Old  Testament.  Some  years  later,  when 
the  Old  Testament  question  was  debated  with  such 
implications  that  upon  the  settlement  depended  the 
decision  whether  there  should  be  any  Christian  Church 
or  not,  there  were  two  parties.  One  said.  The  Old 
Testament  does  not  bind  us,  we  are  not  in  bondage  to 
the  law  of  Moses,  we  are  free  to  shape  our  plans  and 
our  methods  in  any  manner  which  shall  adapt  them  to 
the  needs  of  our  own  time;  but  the  other  said.  The 
Old  Testament  is  the  everlasting  rule  of  life,  its  prece- 
dents must  be  followed,  its  precepts  must  be  obeyed, 
its  supremacy  must  be  maintained,  under  all  condi- 
tions. And  although  the  conservative  brethren  lost  the 
debate,  and  the  Christians  refused  to  be  governed  by 
the  rubrics  and  canons  of  the  Old  Testament,  never- 
theless they  brought  the  Jewish  scriptures  over  into 
Christian  use,  and  affirmed  their  moral  and  spiritual 
authority. 

The  matter  was  decided,  however,  that  day  in  Sa- 


18  HOW   TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

maria,  when  James  and  John  quoted  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  Jesus  declared  the  governing  principle  of 
Old  Testament  interpretation.  He  said  that  the  Old 
Testament  is  to  be  judged  by  its  accordance  with  the 
new  spirit.  Thereby  he  freed  his  followers  for  all  time 
from  moral  bondage  to  the  lower  standards  of  the  past. 
He  taught  them  to  use  the  "cancellation  of  develop-" 
ment."  They  were  freely  to  reject  whatever  they 
found  to  be  outgrown  in  the  morality  or  in  the  theol- 
ogy of  the  Old  Testament.  They  said,  "See  what 
Elijah  did";  but  he  answered,  "Yes,  don't  do  that. 
If  Elijah  did  it,  it  was  because  he  knew  no  better.  We 
have  learned  much  about  God  and  about  man  since 
Elijah's  day.  You  are  to  judge  the  past  by  the  stand- 
ard of  the  new  spirit."  Thereafter,  when  Old  Testa- 
ment examples  are  cited,  we  are  to  examine  them  to 
see  if  they  are  good  examples.  We  are  to  estimate 
them,  not  by  the  praise  which  attends  them  in  the  old 
chronicle,  and  not  by  the  assertion  of  their  eulogists 
that  thus  they  did  by  the  express  revelation  of  God. 
We  are  to  test  them  by  the  spirit  we  are  of;  that  is,  by 
the  supreme  standard  of  the  life  and  word  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  Old  Testament,  as  Christ  explained  it,  is  not  a 
revelation  of  the  will  of  God,  in  such  a  manner  that 
we  may  open  it  at  any  place  and  find  out  what  the  will 
of  God  is.  It  was  for  this  undiscriminating  reference 
that  the  disciples  were  rebuked.  The  Old  Testament 
is  a  record  of  the  endeavors  of  men  to  learn  the  will  of 
God  and  do  it.  It  is  an  account  of  the  progress  which 
they  made  in  this  the  chief  of  our  human  undertak- 


THE    NEW    SPIRIT  19 

ings.  The  chronicle  begins,  as  we  would  expect,  with 
intellectual  and  moral  imperfection.  God  deals  with 
men,  as  we  deal  with  children,  according  to  their 
strength  and  understanding.  If  the  best  that  they  can 
do  in  the  way  of  theology  is  to  think  of  God  as  a  man, 
coming  down  out  of  the  sky,  and  talking  with  Adam 
and  Eve,  very  well ;  that  must  serve  until  they  are  able 
to  think  more  clearly.  If  the  best  they  can  do  in  the 
way  of  morality  is  to  return  evil  in  good  measure  for 
evil,  exacting  an  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a 
tooth,  even  so,  some  rule  is  better  than  the  anarchy  of 
undisciplined  revenge;  out  of  these  rude  ethics  shall 
at  last  proceed  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  Old 
Testament  is  an  honest  account  of  theological  and 
moral  progress.  It  is  a  record  of  splendid  successes; 
it  is  also  a  frank  recital  of  failures.  It  is  not  to  be 
read  all  in  one  tone  of  voice.  It  was  written  for  our 
learning,  but  one  of  the  lessons  which  we  are  to  learn 
from  it  is  that  mankind  comes  slowly  along  the  way 
of  betterment. 


IV 


We  are  not  responsible  for  the  Old  Testament.  We 
are  not  under  obligation  to  defend  it  where  by  the 
standard  of  the  new  spirit  it  can  not  be  defended. 
Under  such  circumstances  we  are  to  deal  with  it  as 
Jesus  dealt  with  the  example  of  Elijah,  and  as  he  dealt 
at  other  times  with  Old  Testament  ideals  of  neighbor- 
liness  and  brotherhood.  We  are  to  say  with  all  frank- 
ness that  this  and  that  may  have  been  very  well  when 


20         HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

it  was  said  and  done,  long  ago,  before  Christ,  but  that 
we  know  better  now. 

We  are  not  responsible  for  the  Old  Testament 
knowledge.  It  is  of  no  concern  to  us  whether  the  men 
of  the  old  time  were  right  or  wrong  in  their  ideas 
about  the  making  of  the  world.  It  used  to  be  consid- 
ered a  matter  of  very  grave  concern.  There  were  times 
when  men  of  science,  if  they  desired  to  keep  their  lib- 
erty and  save  their  lives,  were  compelled  to  undertake 
the  impossible  task  of  pouring  the  increasing  knowl- 
edge gained  by  study  into  the  narrow  moulds  which 
were  constructed  in  Asia  in  the  days  of  man's  igno- 
rance. If  they  discovered  anything  which  was  not 
known  in  the  time  of  Abraham,  especially  if  it  did  not 
agree  with  the  accounts  which  were  transcribed  in 
the  book  of  Genesis  from  the  bricks  of  Babylon,  they 
must  conceal  it  like  a  crime.  The  Old  Testament 
blocked  the  way  of  science.  Within  our  own  memory 
the  theories  of  geologists  and  astronomers  were  de- 
bated not  on  the  basis  of  their  agreement  with  the 
facts  but  on  the  basis  of  their  accordance  with  the  Old 
Testament.  Not  until  recent  years  was  it  perceived 
that  the  proper  reply  to  such  conservative  persons  is 
like  the  rebuke  which  Jesus  addressed  to  James  and 
John :  Ye  know  not  what  knowledge  ye  are  of. 

We  have  held  ourselves  responsible  not  only  for  Old 
Testament  morality  and  theology,  and  for  the  accuracy 
of  Old  Testament  history,  but  for  the  inerrancy  even 
of  the  Jewish  rabbis  who  wrote  names  of  authors  at 
the  beginning  of  writings  which  were  originally  anon- 
ymous.  If  they  said  that  David  wrote  such  and  such 


THE   NEW    SPIRIT  21 

psalms,  we  felt  obliged  to  agree  with  them  against 
the  evidence  of  the  psalms  themselves.  If  they  said 
that  Isaiah  wrote  the  whole  of  the  book  of  Isaiah  we 
must  defend  the  statement  even  though  it  is  plain  in 
the  book  that  the  second  half  was  written  two  hundred 
years  after  the  first  half.  We  must  make  the  facts  fit 
the  theory. 

When  Jesus  told  the  disciples  that  Elijah  was  mis- 
taken, he  liberated  us  from  allegiance  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  bound  us  only  to  Old  Testament  truth, — to 
Old  Testament  truth  certified  by  the  knowledge  and 
spirit  we  are  of.  When  we  encobnter  errors  of  state- 
ment and  deficiencies  of  doctrine  in  these  pages  we  are 
not  to  shut  our  eyes  to  them,  to  conceal  them,  to  deny 
them,  or  to  behave  ourselves  in  any  unnatural  or  insin- 
cere manner.  We  are  to  follow  the  example  of  his 
frankness.  Out  of  bondage  to  these  ancient  books,  he 
has  set  us  free. 


Ill 

WHAT,   THEN,  IS  INSPIRATION? 

CAN  we  read  the  Bible  in  this  free  way, — prefer- 
ring one  part  to  another,  choosing  here  and  re- 
fusing there,  agreeing  but  sometimes  disagreeing, — 
and  still  believe  that  it  is  an  inspired  book?  It  depends 
on  what  we  understand  by  inspiration. 

The  verb  "to  inspire"  means  to  breathe  in  or  upon. 
Thus  "the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of 
life;  and  man  became  a  living  soul."  In  this  sense  all 
human  beings  are  inspired  :  inspired  with  life,  of  which 
breath  is  the  symbol,  and  of  which  God  is  the  origin. 
The  only  occurrence  of  the  word  "inspiration"  in  the 
Old  Testament  is  in  the  book  of  Job  (32:8)  where  it 
says,  "There  is  a  spirit  in  man,  and  the  inspiration  of 
the  Almighty  giveth  them  understanding."  In  the 
Revised  Version  this  reads,  "the  breath  of  the  Al- 
mighty giveth  them  understanding."  Here  again,  we 
are  all  inspired  of  God,  but  to  the  idea  of  the  divine 
origin  of  our  life  is  added  the  idea  of  the  divine  origin 
of  our  reason.  We  are  able  to  think  and  to  know  be- 
cause the  breath  of  God  is  in  us. 

A  similar  expression  is  the  "spirit  of  God."  The 
spirit  of  God  comes  upon  the  prophets,  and  they 
prophesy.    This  is  at  first  different  from  the  sober 

22 


WHAT,    THEN,    IS    INSPIRATION?      23 

words  of  the  inspired  books.  Thus  Moses  "gathered 
the  seventy  men  of  the  elders  of  the  people,  and  set 
them  round  about  the  tabernacle.  And  the  Lord  came 
down  in  a  cloud,  and  spake  unto  him,  and  took  of  the 
spirit  which  was  upon  him,  and  gave  it  unto  the  seventy 
elders ;  and  it  came  to  pass  that  when  the  spirit  rested 
upon  them  they  prophesied,  and  did  not  cease."  (Num. 
11 :24,  25.)  The  account  is  vague,  but  it  seems  to  im- 
ply something  other  than  the  pronouncing  of  decisions 
or  the  imparting  of  divine  truth.  There  was  probably 
an  incoherent  or  ecstatic  element  in  it,  as  in  the  oracles 
of  other  religions. 

In  the  New  Testament,  along  with  the  phrase  the 
"Spirit  of  God,"  there  are  many  references  to  the 
"Holy  Spirit,"  the  "Holy  Ghost."  The  inspiration 
thus  derived  is  described  plainly  as  resulting  in  some 
form  of  ecstasy  or  incoherence.  Thus  St.  Paul,  dis- 
cussing the  gift  of  speaking  with  tongues  (/  Cor.  14) 
says,  "I  will  pray  with  the  spirit,  and  I  will  pray  with 
the  understanding  also ;  I  will  sing  with  the  spirit,  and 
I  will  sing  with  the  understanding  also".:  making  a 
distinction.  And  he  adds,  "If  therefore  the  whole 
church  be  come  together  into  one  place,  and  all  speak 
with  tongues,  and  there  come  in  those  that  are  un- 
learned, or  unbelievers,  will  they  not  say  that  ye  are 
mad?"  At  the  first  hearing  of  the  tongues,  on  the  Day 
of  Pentecost  (^c^^  2 :13),  some  of  the  bystanders  said, 
"These  men  are  full  of  new  wine." 

Gradually,  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the 
New,  the  phases  of  inspiration  which  suggested  in- 
toxication or  insanity  passed,  and  we  have  the  sober 


24         HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

words  of  prophets  and  apostles.  There  passed  also,  for 
a  time,  the  idea  of  limiting  the  gift  of  inspiration 
within  the  circle  of  a  class.  Even  in  the  case  of  the 
seventy  elders,  "there  remained  two  of  the  men  in  the 
camp,  the  name  of  the  one  was  Eldad,  and  the  name 
of  the  other  Medad;  and  the  spirit  rested  upon  them; 
and  they  were  of  them  that  were  written,  but  went  not 
out  unto  the  tabernacle:  and  they  prophesied  in  the 
camp.  And  there  ran  a  young  man,  and  told  Moses, 
and  said,  'Eldad  and  Medad  do  prophesy  in  the  camp.' 
And  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  the  servant  of  Moses, 
one  of  his  young  men,  answered  and  said,  'My  Lord 
Moses,  forbid  them.'  "  These  young  men  had  the  en- 
thusiastic exclusiveness  of  youth.  "And  Moses  said 
unto  him,  'Enviest  thou  for  my  sake?  Would  God 
that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets,  and  that  the 
Lord  would  put  his  spirit  upon  them !'  "  Long  after, 
in  a  day  when  the  barrenness  of  the  official  prophets 
was  notorious,  an  inspired  man,  Amos,  who  declared 
concerning  his  words  "thus  saith  the  Lord,"  declared 
also  that  he  had  no  connection  with  any  prophetic  so- 
ciety. "I  was  no  prophet,  neither  was  I  a  prophet's 
son.  The  Lord  took  me  as  I  followed  the  flock." 

So  in  the  New  Testament.  At  first,  the  apostles 
alone  are  inspired.  The  Gospel  of  St.  John  leaves  the 
matter  without  exact  determination,  calling  the  group 
whom  the  Lord  especially  blessed  "disciples"  {John 
20:19);  but  the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke  specifies  the 
eleven  who  remained  after  the  death  of  Judas  {Luke 
24 :33-36) .  These  were  they  to  whom  he  said,  "  Teace 
be  unto  you ;  as  my  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send 


WHAT,    THEN,    IS    INSPIRATION?      25 

I  you/  And  when  he  had  said  this  he  breathed  on 
them,  and  saith  unto  them,  'Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost/  "  But  a  httle  later,  when  the  Day  of  Pente- 
cost was  fully  come,  they  who  were  all  with  one  accord 
in  one  place  seem  to  have  been  not  only  the  apostles 
but  the  brethren  of  Jesus,  and  his  mother,  and  a  group 
of  devout  women  (Acts  1:14).  Upon  all  these  came 
the  Holy  Ghost,  with  a  sound  as  of  a  rushing,  mighty 
wind,  and  an  appearance  as  of  tongues  of  fire.  They 
were  all  inspired  alike.  And  they  went  out  inspiring 
others.  The  primitive  signs  of  inspiration  followed 
them.  On  whomsoever  they  laid  hands,  they  received 
the  Holy  Ghost  (Acts  8 :19) .  Indeed,  the  Spirit  waited 
not  even  for  a  laying  on  of  hands.  In  the  house  of  the 
centurion,  Cornelius  (Acts  10:44),  while  Peter  was 
speaking,  "the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  all  them  which  heard 
the  word."  The  same  inspiration  accompanied  the 
ministry  of  St.  Paul,  remote  as  he  was  from  the  apos- 
tolic society;  "when  Paul  had  laid  his  hands  upon 
them,  the  Holy  Ghost  came  on  them,  and  they  spake 
with  tongues,  and  prophesied."  Like  Eldad  and 
Medad. 

In  the  only  place  in  which  the  word  "inspiration" 
is  used  in  the  New  Testament  (//  Tim.  3  :16),  the  ref- 
erence is  not  to  inspired  persons  but  to  inspired  writ- 
ings. "All  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God, 
and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correc- 
tion, for  instruction  in  righteousness,  that  the  man  of 
God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all 
good  works."  The  preceding  sentence  speaks  of  "the 
holy  scriptures,"  which  Timothy  has  known  "from  a 


26         HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

child."  These,  of  course,  are  Old  Testament  scrip- 
tures; but  the  phrase  is  somewhat  vague,  because,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  list  of  Old  Testament  scriptures  was 
not  at  that  time  determined.  There  was  no  collection 
in  a  book,  as  we  use  the  word  book;  that  manner  of 
binding  had  not  come  into  use.  The  collection  was  in 
a  box,  which  contained  a  number  of  rolls,  more  or  less. 
It  IS  unlikely  that  by  any  happy  coincidence  the  Old 
Testament  which  was  at  the  hand  of  Timothy's  mother 
and  grandmother,  who  brought  him  up,  was  precisely 
identical  with  ours.  It  matters  little,  however,  even 
when  we  omit  the  word  "is,"  (which  the  King  James 
Version  prints  in  italics  to  show  that  the  translators  are 
doubtful  about  it),  and  read  the  sentence  in  the  Re- 
vised Version :  "Every  scripture  inspired  by  God  is 
also  profitable  for  teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correc- 
tion." Inspiration  is  still  undefined.  Even  if  it  had 
been  said,  in  so  many  words,  "Every  Old  Testament 
book  is  inspired  of  God,"  we  must  still  ask,  But  what 
is  meant  by  inspiration  ? 

The  indefiniteness  of  the  word  is  increased  when  we 
find  it  applied  not  only  to  books  but  to  buildings.  It 
appears  in  the  Old  Testament  that  not  only  prophets 
and  apostles  but  architects  may  be  inspired.  Here  is 
Bezaleel,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  of  whom  the  Lord  says 
to  Moses,  "I  have  filled  him  with  the  spirit  of  God,  in 
wisdom,  and  in  understanding,  and  in  knowledge, 
and  in  all  manner  of  workmanship,  to  devise  cunning 
works,  to  work  in  gold,  and  in  silver,  and  in  brass,  and 
in  cutting  of  stones  to  set  them,  and  in  carving  of  tim- 
ber."   This  is  in  order  that  Bezaleel  may  build  and 


WHAT,    THEN,    IS    INSPIRATION?      27 

furnish  and  adorn  the  tabernacle.  With  him  was  in- 
spired AhoHab  also,  and  other  craftsmen:  "In  the 
hearts  of  all  that  are  wise-hearted  I  have  put  wisdom, 
that  they  may  make  all  that  I  have  commanded  thee." 
They  were  all  inspired.  "Them  hath  he  filled  with 
wisdom  of  heart,  to  work  all  manner  of  work,  of  the 
engraver,  and  of  the  cunning  workman,  and  of  the 
embroiderer,  in  blue,  and  in  purple,  in  scarlet,  and  in 
fine  linen,  and  of  the  weaver,  even  of  them  that  do 
any  work,  and  of  those  that  design  cunning  work." 
{Exodus  35:30-35.)  Not  only  is  it  true  that  "holy 
men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost"  (//  Peter  1 :21),  but  holy  carpenters,  jewelers, 
dyers,  and  weavers  wrought  at  their  several  crafts  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  Old  Testament  declares  also  the  inspiration  of 
adventurers.  It  was  under  the  impulse  and  in  the 
strength  of  God  that  the  heroes  went  into  battle.  So  it 
says  many  times  in  the  book  of  Judges.  The  spirit  of 
the  Lord  came  upon  Othniel,  Caleb's  younger  brother, 
and  he  went  out  to  war,  and  the  Lord  delivered  the 
king  of  Mesopotamia  into  his  hand.  The  spirit  of  the 
Lord  came  upon  Gideon,  and  he  blew  a  trumpet,  and 
called  the  tribes  to  battle.  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  came 
upon  Jephthah.  The  Philistines  shouted  against  Sam- 
son, "and  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  came  mightily  upon 
him,  and  the  cords  that  were  upon  his  arms  became  as 
flax  that  was  burnt  with  fire,  and  his  bands  loosed 
from  off  his  hands.  And  he  found  a  new  jawbone  of 
an  ass,  and  put  forth  his  hand  and  took  it,  and  slew  a 
thousand  men  therewith." 


28  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

The  inference  is  that  all  the  courage  of  the  captains 
and  of  the  soldiers  with  them,  and  all  the  cunning  ex- 
cellence of  architects  and  artists,  and  all  the  holy 
scriptures — all  the  good  books — are  inspired  of  God. 
From  the  inspiration  of  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment the  fathers  quietly  inferred  the  inspiration  of  the 
writings  of  the  New,  and  this  they  extended  to  include 
the  decisions  of  the  great  church  councils.  Not  the 
Bible  only  but  the  living  Church  was  inspired.  And  if 
the  living  Church,  who  shall  deny  that  as  God  inspired 
Amos  whom  the  priest  of  the  king's  chapel  expelled 
from  Bethel,  and  as  God  inspired  Paul  whom  the  high 
priest  expelled  from  Jerusalem,  so  God  may  have  in- 
spired many  another  who  was  subjected,  like  them,  to 
ecclesiastical  condemnation?  The  boundaries  of  in- 
spiration widen  out  indefinitely.  They  are  as  elusive 
as  the  horizon. 

We  have  not  yet  arrived  at  a  definition,  but  it  is 
sufficiently  plain  that  our  way  does  not  lie  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  theory  of  "verbal  inspiration." 

According  to  this  story  the  Bible  is  God's  book,  and 
the  men  whose  names  are  attached  to  various  parts  of 
it  were  only  his  secretaries,  who  wrote  at  his  dictation. 
The  result  of  this  supernatural  process  is  an  infallible 
book.  "The  Book  itself,"  says  a  believer  in  this  theory, 
"knows  of  but  one  kind  of  inspiration,  and  that  is  an 
inspiration  which  extends  to  every  chapter,  verse,  word 
and  syllable  of  the  original  Scriptures,  using  the  mind 
and  mouth,  the  heart  and  hand  of  the  writer,  guiding 
them  in  the  least  particular,  guarding  them  against  the 
least  blunder,  and  making  their  utterances  the  very 


WHAT,    THEN,    IS    INSPIRATION?      29 

word  of  God  to  our  souls.  .  .  .  The  Scripture,  and 
the  entire  Scripture,  claims  to  be,  and  is  in  fact,  alto- 
gether exempt  from  errors  or  mistakes  of  any  sort.'* 
The  proof  or  disproof  of  such  a  theory  lies  in  the  book 
itself.  It  is  a  plain  question  of  fact.  The  doctrine  of 
the  infallibility  of  the  Bible  is  subject  to  the  same  sort 
of  examination  as  the  doctrine  of  the  infallibility  of 
the  Pope.  The  assertion  that  the  Scriptures  are  with- 
out error  or  defect  of  any  kind  is  like  the  assertion 
that  there  is  no  defect  or  error  in  Gibbon's  Decline 
and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  The  answer  is  in  the 
pages  of  the  book :  is  there  any  misstatement  or  mis- 
take, or  not?  The  determination  of  the  fact  is  in  the 
province  of  competent  scholars,  but  it  is  also  within 
the  ability  of  everybody  who  is  able  to  read. 

Being  restrained  by  the  Bible  itself  from  calling  its 
inspiration  verbal  or  mechanical,  other  descriptive  ad- 
jectives are  "moral,"  "dynamical,"  "vital."  The 
phrase  "vital  inspiration"  expresses  the  common  opin- 
ion of  our  time. 

In  the  lives  of  some  men  there  are  moments  of  un- 
usual vision  and  exaltation.  Into  this  experience  even 
ordinary  persons  enter  in  times  of  exceeding  emotion, 
but  it  is  the  special  privilege  of  those  whose  difference 
from  the  common  run  of  men  is  called  genius.  In  such 
moments  they  see  visions  of  truth  and  beauty,  and  hear 
voices  which  bring  answers  to  ancient  problems.  They 
are  unable  to  give  prose  accounts  of  these  experiences. 
They  come  out  of  the  silence  into  the  street,  and,  if 
they  attempt  to  describe  what  happened  to  them,  they 
say  that  they  heard  the  blowing  of  a  mighty  wind,  and 


30  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

saw  the  flames  of  mystic  fires;  or  some  such  thing. 
St.  Paul,  to  whom  this  happened  many  times,  confessed 
that  whether  he  was  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body, 
he  could  not  tell.  All  that  he  knew  was  that  he  was 
caught  up  to  the  third  heaven,  and  "heard  unspeak- 
able words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter." 
That  was  his  way  of  expressing  it.  Bezaleel  and  Aho- 
liab,  inspired  craftsmen,  would  no  doubt  have  ex- 
pressed it  differently;  so  too  would  Gideon  and  Jeph- 
thah,  inspired  captains.  But  in  all  cases  it  is  essentially 
the  same  thing.  Men  are  conscious  of  an  impartation 
and  impulse  from  without.  They  are  lifted  above  their 
ordinary  selves.  Suddenly,  the  world  about  them  is 
illuminated,  as  by  a  flash  of  lightning  in  the  dark,  and 
they  know  where  they  are,  and  what  things  mean,  and 
where  to  go,  and  what  to  do.  They  come  out,  and  write 
a  poem,  or  a  sermon,  or  a  chapter  of  a  book,  or  they 
build  a  house  or  a  bridge,  or  paint  a  picture,  or  make 
a  new  plan  of  campaign,  or  put  a  new  resolution  into 
effect. 

For  this  vital  inspiration,  as  the  Bible  Itself  suggests, 
Is  not  peculiar  to  religion.  Neither  is  it  essentially 
different  in  religion  from  what  It  Is  in  other  fields  of 
life.  People  used  to  ask,  when  this  doctrine  was  de- 
bated, how  the  inspiration  of  Isaiah  differed  from  the 
Inspiration  of  Shakespeare  or  of  St.  Augustine.  There 
was  never  any  very  satisfactory  answer.  It  was  like 
asking  how  the  genius  of  the  one  differed  from  the 
genius  of  the  others.  The  "spirit  of  God,"  as  it  says 
in  the  Old  Testament,  was  upon  them  all :  also  upon 
Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael,  upon  Copernicus  and 


WHAT,    THEN,    IS    INSPIRATION?      31 

Newton,  upon  Washington  and  Lincoln.  Each  of  these 
men  was  so  uncommonly  filled  with  power,  or  with 
wisdom,  or  with  insight,  or  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  that  he  perceived,  and  his  neighbors  perceived 
also,  that  he  was  moved  of  God.  That  seemed  the  most 
direct  and  simple  explanation.  The  divine  impulse  and 
the  divine  guidance  did  not  relieve  them  from  the  ne- 
cessity of  work,  neither  did  it  insure  them  against 
making  mistakes;  neither  did  it  obliterate  their  indi- 
viduality, rather  it  emphasized  it.  What  it  did  was  so 
to  vitalize  them,  so  to  enrich  and  strengthen  their  souls, 
that  they  were  able  to  do  gceat  deeds,  and  to  think 
great  thoughts.  These  men,  whether  they  wrote  books 
of  the  Bible,  or  built  churches,  or  ruled  states,  or  made 
any  other  contribution  to  the  progress  of  the  world, 
were  inspired  of  God. 


IV 

THE  PENTATEUCHAL  ALPHABET 

WHOEVER  ventures  even  a  little  way  into  the 
literature  of  Old  Testament  interpretation 
comes  upon  the  letters  of  a  mysterious  alphabet:  E 
and  /,  D,  P,  H,  and  R.  They  indicate  the  source 
materials  out  of  which  the  first  five  books  of  the  Bible 
were  made. 

I 

It  was  noticed  long  ago  that  these  books  contain 
many  duplicates.  The  same  event  is  described  in  dif- 
ferent places  differently. 

Sometimes  the  two  accounts  are  set  down  side  by 
side,  as  in  the  first  and  second  chapters  of  Genesis, 
Sometimes  there  are  variations  in  the  course  of  the 
same  narrative,  as  in  the  story  of  the  Flood,  where  the 
divine  command  to  Noah  calls  him  to  bring  "of  every 
living  thing  of  all  flesh  two  of  every  sort"  into  the 
ark  {Gen,  6:19),  and  then  in  the  next  paragraph  the 
book  says  that  "the  Lord  said  unto  Noah.  *0f  every 
clean  beast  thou  shalt  take  to  thee  by  sevens.'  "  Also, 
it  says  in  one  place  {Gen.  7:17)  that  "the  flood  was 
forty  days  upon  the  earth,"  and  in  another  place  in  the 
same  chapter,  "the  waters  prevailed  upon  the  earth 
one  hundred  and  fifty  days." 

32 


THE  PENTATEUCHAL  ALPHABET  33 

Individual  duplications,  variations  and  differences 
are  capable  of  ingenious  explanation,  but  scholars,  in 
the  progress  of  their  patient  studies,  found  that  the 
number  of  these  disagreements  is  very  great.  They 
occur  throughout  the  first  five  books  of  the  Bible,  and 
also  in  the  sixth. 

The  presence  of  similar  disagreements  in  the  New 
Testament  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  of  differences 
of  authorship.  Thus  there  are  various  statements  as  to 
the  order  of  the  temptations  of  Jesus  {Mt.  4;  Lk.  4), 
as  to  the  time  of  the  casting  out  of  the  traders  from 
the  temple  {Mt.  21 ;  /w.  2),  as  to  the  day  of  the  Last 
Supper  (Mt.  26:17;  Jn.  13:1).  Four  different  biog- 
raphers, each  assembling  his  materials  from  different 
sources,  would  naturally  differ  in  such  details  as  these. 
Might  not  the  duplications  and  variations  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch have  a  like  origin  ? 

As  for  the  fact  that  in  the  Pentateuch  the  writings 
of  the  several  authors, — if  there  were"  several, — are 
combined  in  a  single  narrative,  it  was  remembered  that 
a  like  combination  had  once  been  made  of  the  writings 
of  the  four  evangelists.  About  the  year  150  a  Chris- 
tian missionary  named  Tatian  made  a  book  called 
Diatessaron.  The  word  means  "Through  Four,"  and 
the  book  was  a  Life  of  Christ  made  by  bringing  the 
four  gospels  into  a  single  narrative.  Tatian  began  with 
the  prologue  to  St.  John's  Gospel,  proceeded  with  the 
accounts  of  the  infancy  in  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Luke, 
and  then  selected  now  from  one  gospel,  now  from  an- 
other, arranging  the  materials  in  order,  according  to 
his  judgment;  sometimes  omitting,  sometimes  retain- 


34  now    TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

ing,  parallel  passages.  It  seemed  possible  that  the 
Diatessaron  might  take  the  place  of  the  four  gospels; 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  and  John  being  eventually  for- 
gotten. It  was  read  in  place  of  them  in  many  churches. 
It  was  gradually  disused,  however,  and  now  survives 
only  in  translation.  The  resolving  of  it  back  into  its 
original  materials  is  one  of  the  problems  of  scholars. 
They  can  determine  what  passages  came  from  Mark 
and  what  from  Luke,  and  what  passages  are  pieced 
together  out  of  fragments  of  all  four. 

It  was  discovered  that  the  Pentateuch  is  also  a 
^Diatessaron,  made  by  combining  four  source-materials 
which  were  once  as  independent  as  the  gospels.  To 
these  materials  were  given  the  distinguishing  letters, 
J,'E,D,^xi6.P, 


In  the  year  621  B.  C,  in  the  reign  of  King  Josiah, 
the  temple  at  Jerusalem  was  cleaned,  and  repaired,  and 
put  in  order.  This  was  made  necessary  by  the  fact  that 
there  had  been  a  pagan  king  upon  the  throne  of  Judah, 
and  during  his  long  reign  the  temple  was  profaned 
and  neglected.  In  the  course  of  this  restoration  there 
came  to  light  a  remarkable  book.  The  account  of  the 
discovery  is  in  the  twenty-second  chapter  of  the  Second 
Book  of  Kings. 

Hilklah  the  high  priest  said  unto  Shaphan  the  scribe : — • 
"I  have  found  the  book  of  the  law  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord."  And  Hilkiah  gave  the  book  to  Shaphan,  and  he 
read  it.  And  Shaphan  the  scribe  came  to  the  king,  and 
brought  the  king  word  again,  and  said : — "Thy  servants 


THE  PENTATEUCHAL  ALPHABET  35 

have  gathered  the  money  that  was  found  in  the  house, 
and  have  dehvered  it  into  the  hand  of  them  that  do  the 
work,  that  have  the  oversight  of  the  house  of  the  Lord." 
And  Shaphan  the  scribe  shewed  the  king,  saying : — "Hil- 
kiah  the  priest  hath  deHvered  me  a  book."  And  Shaphan 
read  it  before  the  king.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the 
king  had  heard  the  words  of  the  book  of  the  law,  that  he 
rent  his  clothes.  And  the  king  commanded  Hilkiah  the 
priest,  and  Ahikam  the  son  of  Shaphan,  and  Achbor, 
the  son  of  Michaiah,  and  Shaphan  the  scribe,  and  Asa- 
hiah  a  servant  of  the  king's,  saying: — *'Go  ye,  enquire 
of  the  Lord  for  me,  and  for  the  people,  and  for  all  Judah, 
concerning  the  words  of  this  book  that  is  found  :  for  great 
is  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  that  is  kindled  against  me,  be- 
cause our  fathers  have  not  hearkened  unto  the  words  of 
this  book,  to  do  according  unto  all  that  which  is  written 
concerning  us." 

And  they  brought  the  king  word  again.  And  the  king 
sent,  and  they  gathered  unto  him  all  the  elders  of  Judah 
and  of  Jerusalem.  And  the  king  went  up  into  the  house 
of  the  Lord,  and  all  the  men  of  Judah  and  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  Jerusalem  with  him,  and  the  priests,  and  the 
prophets,  and  all  the  people,  both  small  and  great :  and  he 
read  in  their  ears  all  the  words  of  the  book  of  the  cove- 
nant which  was  found  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  And 
the  king  stood  by  a  pillar,  and  made  a  covenant  before  the 
Lord,  to  walk  after  the  Lord,  and  to  keep  his  command- 
ments and  his  testimonies  and  his  statutes  with  all  his 
heart  and  all  his  soul,  to  perform  the  words  of  this  cove- 
nant that  were  written  in  this  book.  And  all  the  people 
stood  to  the  covenant. 

The  reformation  which  was  thus  undertaken  by  the 
king  reveals  the  contents  of  the  book.  He  destroyed  a 
multitude  of  idols;  he  took  away  *'the  horses  that  the 
kings  of  Judah  had  given  to  the  sun,"  and  burned  the 
chariots  of  the  sun  with  fire;  he  broke  down  the  idola- 
trous altars;  he  defiled  the  shrines  of  Ashtoreth,  the 


36  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

god  of  Sidon,  and  of  Chemosh,  the  god  of  Moab,  and 
of  Milcom,  the  god  of  Ammon,  and  Topheth  where 
men  had  made  their  sons  and  daughters  pass  through 
the  fire  to  Molech,  and  all  the  sanctuaries  of  Baal;  he 
desecrated  all  the  "high  places,"  and  took  away  all 
their  priests ;  and  he  put  away  the  familiar  spirits,  and 
the  wizards,  and  all  the  abominations,  "that  he  might 
perform  the  words  of  the  law  which  were  written  in 
the  book  that  Hilkiah  the  priest  found  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord." 

The  characteristic  act  of  this  reformation  was  the 
centralization  of  worship  in  Jerusalem.  The  "high 
places"  were  associated  with  all  the  long  history  of 
Hebrew  religion.  They  were  shrines  like  Bethel,  where 
the  patriarchs  had  met  God.  Some  of  them  had  been 
holy  places  long  before  the  days  of  the  patriarchs, — 
holy  wells  and  holy  hills  of  primitive  religion.  Some 
of  them  had  inherited  local  traditions  and  customs  of 
that  old  paganism,  as  the  saints  of  the  Middle  Ages 
inherited  in  their  shrines  the  legends  of  the  exiled 
gods.  They  were  refuges  of  superstition.  The  aboli- 
tion of  these  sanctuaries  was  a  revolution  as  radical  as 
would  be  involved  to-day  in  the  burning  of  all  the  coun- 
try churches,  and  the  forbidding  of  public  worship  in 
any  place  except  a  cathedral  in  the  chief  city.  It  was 
accounted  necessary,  however,  to  secure  and  maintain 
the  purity  of  religion.  It  was  made  possible  by  the 
requirement  of  it  in  the  book. 

If  this  book  is  still  in  existence,  it  is  the  book  of 
Deuteronomy.  Deuteronomy  contains  the  command- 
ments which  Josiah  obeyed.   It  is,  indeed,  in  the  form 


THE  PENTATEUCHAL  ALPHABET  37 

of  addresses  made  by  Moses  to  the  people  of  Israel 
before  their  entrance  into  the  land  of  Canaan.  But  so 
are  the  dialogues  of  Plato  in  the  form  of  questions 
and  answers  made  by  Socrates.  We  may  be  content 
to  say  that  the  maker  of  the  book  of  Deuteronomy 
knew  very  well  what  Moses  would  have  said  had  he 
been  confronted  with  the  evils  of  that  time,  and  that 
the  value  of  what  he  made  him  say  rests  not  on  its 
connection  with  the  actual  utterances  of  Moses  but  on 
its  accordance  with  good  reason  and  righteousness. 
When  the  king  and  the  people  obeyed  the  book,  they 
obeyed  what  they  recognized  as  the  very  will  of  God. 
Thus  we  distinguish  one  of  the  source-materials  out 
of  which  the  Pentateuch  was  made.  It  is  the  whole,  or 
a  great  part,  of  Deuteronomy.  It  was  composed  in  the 
seventh  century  before  Christ.  Its  letter  in  the  Penta- 
teuchal  alphabet  is  D. 

Ill 

In  the  year  444  B.  C,  Ezra  the  scribe,  coming  from 
Babylon  to  Jerusalem,  brought  with  him  a  book,  which 
he  read  aloud  in  an  assembly  of  the  people.  An  account 
of  this  proceeding  appears  in  the  eighth  chapter  of 
Nehemiah. 

And  all  the  people  gathered  themselves  together  as  one 
man  into  the  street  that  was  before  the  Water  Gate ;  and 
they  spake  unto  Ezra  the  scribe  to  bring  the  book  of  the 
law  of  Moses,  which  the  Lord  had  commanded  to  Israel. 
And  Ezra  the  priest  brought  the  law  before  the  congrega- 
tion both  of  men  and  women,  and  all  that  could  hear  with 
understanding,  upon  the  first  day  of  the  seventh  month. 
And  he  read  therein  before  the  street  that  was  before  the 


38         HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

Water  Gate  from  the  morning  until  midday,  before  the 
men  and  the  women,  and  those  that  could  understand; 
and  the  ears  of  all  the  people  were  attentive  unto  the  book 
of  the  law. 

And  they  found  written  in  the  law  which  the  Lord  had 
commanded  by  Moses,  that  the  children  of  Israel  should 
dwell  in  booths  in  the  feast  of  the  seventh  month:  and 
that  they  should  publish  and  proclaim  in  all  their  cities, 
and  in  Jerusalem,  saying: — ''Go  forth  unto  the  mount, 
and  fetch  olive  branches,  and  pine  branches,  and  myrtle 
branches,  and  palm  branches,  and  branches  of  thick  trees, 
to  make  booths,  as  it  is  written."  So  the  people  went 
forth,  and  brought  them,  and  made  themselves  booths, 
every  one  upon  the  roof  of  his  house,  and  in  their  courts, 
and  in  the  courts  of  the  house  of  God,  and  in  the  street 
of  the  Water  Gate,  and  in  the  street  of  the  Gate  of  Eph- 
raim.  And  all  the  congregation  of  them  that  were  come 
again  out  of  the  captivity  made  booths,  and  sat  under  the 
booths :  for  since  the  days  of  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun  unto 
that  day  had  not  the  children  of  Israel  done  so.  And 
there  was  very  great  gladness.  Also  day  by  day,  from  the 
first  day  unto  the  last  day,  he  read  in  the  book  of  the  law 
of  God.  And  they  kept  the  feast  seven  days ;  and  on  the 
eighth  day  was  a  solemn  assembly,  according  unto  the 
manner. 

L  These  directions  for  the  proper  observance  of 
the  Feast  of  Booths  are  in  Leviticus.  "Ye  shall  take 
you  on  the  first  day  the  boughs  of  goodly  trees, 
branches  of  palm  trees,  and  the  boughs  of  thick  trees, 
and  willows  of  the  brook;  and  ye  shall  rejoice  before 
the  Lord  your  God  seven  days."  (23  :40.)  The  chap- 
ter in  which  these  words  are  found  is  in  a  part  of 
Leviticus  which  has  a  distinct  character  of  its  own. 
The  section  begins  with  the  seventeenth  chapter  which 
opens  with  the  words,  "The  Lord  spake  unto  Moses, 
saying,  Speak  unto  Aaron,  and  unto  his  sons,  and  unto 


THE  PENTATEUCHAL  ALPHABET  39 

all  the  children  of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them:  This  is 
the  thing  which  the  Lord  hath  commanded."  It  ends 
with  the  twenty-sixth  chapter,  which  closes  with  the 
formula:  "These  are  the  statutes  and  judgments  and 
laws  which  the  Lord  made  between  him  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  in  Mount  Sinai  by  the  hand  of  Moses." 

The  continual  emphasis  of  this  section  is  upon  the 
necessity  of  holiness,  both  ceremonial  and  moral.  The 
word  means  separation.  The  idea  is  that  the  Jews  are 
to  be  a  people  apart  from  their  neighbors.  They  are 
to  be  different  from  them  in  their  moral  standards, 
and  this  difference  is  to  be  assisted  by  social  and  ec- 
clesiastical customs ;  they  are  to  have  a  series  of  feasts 
and  fasts  whose  observance  shall  distinguish  them 
from  other  people ;  and  they  are  to  make  a  distinction 
between  what  they  may  eat  and  what  they  may  not  eat, 
which  shall  prevent  the  easy  interchange  of  hospital- 
ity :  they  are  to  have  their  own  table.  *T  am  the  Lord 
your  God,  which  have  separated  you  from  other  peo- 
ple. Ye  shall  put  therefore  difference  between  clean 
beasts  and  unclean,  and  between  unclean  foods  and 
clean.  Ye  shall  be  holy  unto  me,  for  I  the  Lord  am 
holy  and  have  severed  you  from  other  people,  that  ye 
should  be  mine."  {Lev.  20:25,  26.)  This  section  is 
therefore  called  by  scholars  the  Code  of  Holiness,  and 
its  letter  in  the  Pentateuchal  alphabet  is  H. 

All  codes  are  combinations  of  old  laws  and  new, 
and  there  are  enough  old  laws  in  the  section  to  justify 
the  ascription  of  it  to  Moses.  It  is  the  emphasis  which 
is  new.  The  drawing  of  lines  of  separation  is  common 
among  all  ancient  peoples,  and  has  not  been  outgrown 


40  HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

even  by  moderns,  but  it  was  particularly  important  for 
the  Jews  at  the  time  of  the  exile.  They  were  in  danger 
of  losing  their  distinctive  existence.  Already,  under 
the  conditions  of  a  previous  exile,  their  kinsmen  of  the 
ten  northern  tribes  had  been  merged  in  the  vast  popula- 
tion of  Assyria.  It  was  a  warning  as  to  what  might 
befall  the  southern  tribes  in  Babylonia.  The  peril 
called  for  the  erection  of  a  stout  barrier  of  holiness. 
This  was  provided  by  the  Holiness  Code. 

2.  This  section  of  Leviticus,  however,  is  only  a 
part  of  a  considerable  book,  and  the  book  itself  is  a 
part  of  a  great  array  of  laws.  They  begin  in  Exodus, 
and  continue  into  Numbers.  The  laws  of  Leviticus  are 
distinctively  ecclesiastical  and  ceremonial.  They  con- 
sist for  the  most  part  of  canons  and  rubrics.  They  con- 
tain careful  directions  for  the  offering  of  sacrifices. 

Such  a  manual  might  have  been  composed  for  con- 
venience at  any  time,  but  it  was  made  necessary  by  the 
condition  of  the  exile.  While  the  temple  stood,  and  the 
sacrifices  were  offered  by  priests  in  regular  succession, 
the  directions  might  easily  have  been  given  by  one  to 
another,  by  word  of  mouth,  as  they  were  needed.  But 
in  586  the  temple  was  destroyed;  suddenly  and  tragi- 
cally the  services  ceased.  The  Jews  confidently  ex- 
pected to  return  to  their  own  land,  and  to  rebuild  the 
temple;  but  the  years  of  exile  lengthened.  In  the 
course  of  nature  the  older  priests  drew  toward  the 
end  of  their  days.  It  was  possible  that  their  knowl- 
edge might  perish  with  them.  Under  these  circum- 
stances the  wise  thing  to  do  was  to  put  it  all  in  writing : 
all  the  rubrics,  which  instructed  the  priests  in  the  order 


THE  PENTATEUCHAL  ALPHABET  41 

of  the  services;  all  the  canons,  which  regulated  the 
religion  and  morals  of  the  people. 

Such  a  book  would  be  as  old  as  the  immemorial  past. 
It  would  describe  customs  which  had  prevailed  in 
Israel  from  the  days  of  Abraham,  and  other  customs 
which  were  introduced  at  the  time  of  the  latest  ritual 
enrichment.  It  might  include  customs  which  had  never 
existed  at  all,  but  concerning  which  the  compilers 
would  say  to  themselves,  **This  is  better  than  the  for- 
mer way,  and  we  will  so  do  it  when  we  return."  Thus 
Ezekiel,  in  the  exile,  made  a  canon-and-rubric  book, 
which  is  contained  in  his  last  eight  chapters,  some  of 
whose  suggestions  were  not  adopted.  The  Ezekiel 
Code  {Ezek.  40-48)  is  curiously  like  the  Holiness 
Code  {Lev,  17-26). 

Books  of  this  kind  are  not  dated.  The  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer,  for  example,  bears  no  mark  of  author- 
ship. Scholars,  by  reason  of  their  studies,  are  able  to 
make  notes  in  the  margins,  and  to  say  of  a  certain 
prayer,  "This  was  written  while  the  barbarians  were 
pounding  at  the  gates  of  Rome;"  and  of  another, 
"This  was  placed  at  this  point  because  President 
Washington  did  not  go  to  church  in  the  afternoon;" 
and  of  a  psalm,  "This  was  set  here  by  St.  Benedict;" 
and  of  a  collect,  "This  was  composed  a  few  years  ago 
by  Dr.  Huntington,  rector  of  Grace  Church,  New 
York."  There  is,  indeed,  a  single  date  in  the  American 
Prayer-book,  where  it  is  stated  that  the  book  was  set 
forth  by  the  General  Convention  in  1789;  but  this  is 
like  the  dating  of  the  Pentateuch  by  the  name  of 
Moses.    It  connects  the  Prayer-book  with  a  single 


42  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

formal  action,  before  which  and  since  which  many 
important  parts  of  the  book  were  written. 

When,  then,  we  say  in  general  of  the  book  of  Leviti- 
cus that  it  was  made  during  the  exile,  and  read  in 
Jerusalem  after  the  exile,  by  Ezra,  in  the  year  444, 
we  are  leaving  a  host  of  details  undetermined.  The 
book  represents  the  stage  of  canonical  and  ritual  de- 
velopment which  the  Jewish  people  had  reached  at  that 
time.  They  had  ceased  to  be  a  nation,  and  had  begun 
to  be  a  church.  They  had  no  kings  or  rulers  of  their 
own,  being  in  subjection,  but  they  had  priests.  Their 
chief  interests  were  ecclesiastical.  This  appears  plainly 
in  Leviticus.  It  is  a  priest's  book  of  the  fifth  century, 
^nd  its  letter  in  the  Pentateuch  alphabet  is  P, 

3.  But  the  book  which  Ezra  read  was  evidently 
longer  than  the  Holiness  Code,  and  longer  than  the 
book  of  Leviticus  which  contains  it,  for  the  reading 
occupied  seven  days.  He  read  "from  the  morning 
until  midday.  .  .  .  Day  by  day,  from  the  first  day 
until  the  last  day,  he  read  in  the  book  of  the  law  of 
God.  And  they  kept  the  feast  seven  days."  The 
Priests'  Code,  however,  is  not  limited  by  the  arbitrary 
boundaries  of  Leviticus.  It  extends  back  into  Exodus 
and  forward  into  Numbers.  And  along  with  the 
Priests'  Code  is  a  series  of  Priestly  Narratives. 

As  the  laws  in  Deuteronomy  are  preceded  by  chap- 
ters of  history  (1-4)  which  go  back  to  the  departure 
from  Sinai,  so  the  laws  in  Exodus,  Leviticus  and  NwfP- 
bers  are  preceded  by  chapters  of  history  (Gen.  l-Ex. 
19)  which  go  back  to  the  creation  of  the  world.  But 
the  account  of  the  creation,  as  we  saw,  is  in  duplicate 


THE  PENTATEUCHAL  ALPHABET  43 

and  is  only  the  first  in  a  series  of  such  duplications. 
A  study  of  these  variant  passages  reveals  the  fact  that 
in  many  cases  one  narrative  is  concrete,  vivid,  and 
picturesque,  like  the  story  of  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
while  the  other  narrative  is  formal,  restrained,  some- 
times rather  dry  and  repetitious,  and  connected,  like 
the  story  of  the  Days  of  Creation,  with  the  origin  of 
some  religious  custom  or  institution.  The  formal  nar- 
rative is  in  the  manner  of  the  Priests'  Code,  and  is 
concerned  with  the  same  kind  of  things.  To  it  belong 
genealogies  which  begin  with  Adam,  with  Noah,  with 
Abraham,  and  indicate  the  stock  of  tribes  and  families. 
It  contains  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  custom  of 
circumcision,  and  of  the  covenant  which  God  made 
with  Abraham  and  with  Moses,  and  regulations  for  the 
observance  of  the  feast  of  the  Passover.  The  disen- 
tangling of  this  thread  of  narrative  is  as  easy  as  the 
disentangling  of  the  St.  John  strand  from  the  Mat- 
thew, Mark  and  Luke  strands  in  the  Diatessaron.  It 
was  probably  included  in  Ezra's  book.  It  preserves  the 
ancient  traditions  of  the  Hebrews  concerning  the 
origins  of  their  institutions.  This  Priestly  Narrative 
is  added  to  the  Priests'  Code  under  the  Pentateuchal 
letter  F. 

IV 

There  remains  a  considerable  body  of  narrative  in 
which  are  contained  most  of  the  familiar  stories  of 
the  Pentateuch.  It  begins  with  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
makes  us  acquainted,  familiarly  and  intimately,  with 
Abraham  and   Isaac  and  Jacob,   with  Joseph,   with 


44         HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Moses,  and  carries  us  in  company  with  the  people  of 
Israel  to  the  eve  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan.  The 
narrative  continues  in  the  book  of  Joshua. 

The  fact  that  even  after  the  subtraction  of  the 
Priestly  Narrative  duplications  still  occur,  indicates 
that  this  remaining  material  is  not  one  strand,  but  two. 
An  illustration  is  the  two  accounts  which  are  given  to 
explain  why  Abraham's  son  was  named  Isaac,  mean- 
ing "laughter."  One  account  is  in  the  seventeenth 
chapter  of  Genesis,  The  other  is  in  the  eighteenth 
chapter. 

It  is  to  be  seen,  even  in  our  English  translation,  that 
the  divine  name  in  the  first  of  these  passages  is  God, 
or  in  Hebrew  Elohim;  and  in  the  second  is  Lord,  or  in 
Hebrew  Jehovah.  It  was  found  that  this  distinction 
holds  in  the  other  duplicates  in  Genesis,  though  it 
ceases  after  the  account  of  the  revelation  of  the  name 
Jehovah  in  Exodus  (4:14).  It  was  found  also  that 
although  all  of  this  narrative,  as  distinguished  from 
P,  is  informal,  lively  and  full  of  conversation,  the 
Elohim  passages  are  more  restrained  in  their  descrip- 
tion of  the  acts  of  God.  Thus  in  the  second  passage, 
God  comes  walking  by  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  even  as 
he  walked  in  the  cool  of  the  day  in  Eden;  he  accepts 
the  hospitality  of  Abraham,  partaking  of  the  butter 
and  milk  and  meat,  and  the  cakes  which  Sarah  had 
baked;  after  the  meal  God  says  to  Abraham,  Where 
is  your  wife?  and  Sarah,  listening  behind  the  tent  door, 
and  hearing  God  promise  that  she  shall  bear  a  son, 
laughs  derisively  to  hear  it.  In  the  first  passage  there 
is  none  of  this  friendly,  but  very  informal,  intercourse 


THE  PENTATEUCHAL  ALPHABET  45 

with  God.  Then  it  was  found  that  this  difference  ap- 
pears again  and  again  in  connection  with  the  divine 
names,  and  the  Jehovah  passages  were  indicated  in  the 
Pentateuchal  alphabet  by  the  letter  J,  and  the  Elohim 
passages  by  the  letter  E.  It  was  noticed  further  that 
the  /  narrative  shows  a  better  acquaintance  with  the 
shrines  of  the  southern  kingdom,  whose  chief  tribe  was 
Judah,  and  that  the  E  narrative  shows  a  better  ac- 
quaintance with  the  shrines  of  the  northern  kingdom, 
whose  chief  tribe  was  Ephraim.  This  made  a  more 
accurate  distinction  than  the  difference  in  the  names  of 
God.  The  two  narratives  were  called  ''prophetic,"  be- 
cause they  seemed  to  be  in  the  spirit  of  the  preachers 
(prophets)  rather  than  in  the  spirit  of  the  priests. 

It  is  not  possible  to  date  these  Prophetic  Narratives 
by  any  event  so  definite  and  dramatic  as  the  discovery 
of  Deuteronomy  by  Josiah  in  621  or  the  reading  of 
Leviticus  and  the  Priestly  Narrative  by  Ezra  in  444. 
It  is  not  likely  that  the  Hebrews  did  much  writing 
while  they  were  slaves  in  Egypt,  or  while  they  were 
nomads  in  the  wilderness.  This  manner  of  expression 
is  not  natural  to  slaves  or  nomads.  Neither  is  it  likely 
that  much  was  written  in  the  fierce  days  of  the  inva- 
sion and  the  conquest.  Many  of  the  songs,  the  laws 
and  the  stories  which  are  contained  in  these  narratives 
were  already  in  existence,  but  they  were  in  the  memory 
of  the  people.  They  were  sung  around  the  camp-fires 
of  Israel,  and  told  by  mothers  to  their  children. 

The  reign  of  David,  about  the  year  1000,  brought 
the  Hebrews  at  last  into  a  state  of  prosperity  and 
peace ;  and  this  opportunity  for  rest  and  reflection  was 


46  HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

increased  in  the  reign  of  Solomon.  In  the  accounts  of 
his  time  we  find  the  names  of  "scribes,"  and  of  a 
"recorder"  or  chronicler.  The  chronicles  of  these 
reigns  are  so  detailed  and  intimate  that  they  seem  to 
have  been  written  by  men  who  lived  in  that  age.  It 
is  likely  that  we  have  here,  in  the  books  of  Samuel,  the 
oldest  writing  in  the  Bible.  But  the  Prophetic  Narra- 
tives, when  they  are  compared  with  this  writing,  are 
found  to  be  in  the  same  literary  manner.  They  use 
the  same  kind  of  words,  and  in  the  same  way.  They 
have  such  likenesses  as  are  evident  in  the  various  books 
which  were  written  in  the  Elizabethan  or  in  the  Vic- 
torian periods  of  English  literature.  The  inference  is 
that  the  writers  of  the  Prophetic  Narratives  were  gath- 
ering their  ancient  songs  and  stories  and  putting  them 
in  writing  after  the  time  of  David.  It  may  have  been 
in  the  ninth  century,  or  in  the  eighth.  Somewhere  in 
this  indefinite  time  scholars  put  the  date  of  Homer. 
The  writers  of  the  Prophetic  Narratives  were  assem- 
bling the  traditions  of  the  Hebrews  while  he  was  as- 
sembling the  traditions  of  the  Greeks. 

The  resulting  narratives,  /  and  E,  are  alike  in  sub- 
stance, because  they  are  the  records  of  a  common 
tradition.  They  differ  in  detail,  partly  because  one  was 
made  in  the  south,  the  other  in  the  north  of  Palestine; 
and  partly  because  the  south  and  the  north  were  di- 
vided, in  937,  into  independent  and  contending  king- 
doms. When  the  northern  kingdom  was  conquered  by 
the  Assyrians,  and  Samaria,  its  capital,  was  destroyed, 
in  722,  refugees  would  carry  the  E  narrative  with 


THE  PENTATEUCHAL  ALPHABET  47 

them  into  the  south.  Thus  the  two  would  be  combined 
to  make  JE. 

The  combined  narrative  consisted  in  part  of  history, 
and  in  part  of  law.  It  contained  the  oldest  law-book 
of  the  Hebrew  people — the  Code  of  Exodus  (20-23). 
Before  this  code  the  record  places  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments {Ex.  20:1-17),  and  again,  after  the  code 
{Ex.  34:17-26)  it  recites  the  Ten  Commandments, 
but  in  a  different  form.  The  first  commandment 
in  the  second  recital  is,  "Thou  shalt  make  thee 
no  molten  gods;"  other  commandments  concern  the 
keeping  of  religious  festivals,  and  the  offering  of  sac- 
rifices; the  tenth  commandment  is,  ''Thou  shalt  not 
seethe  a  kid  in  his  mother's  milk."  At  the  end  of  the 
list  it  says,  "the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Write  thou 
these  words,  for  after  the  tenor  of  these  w^ords  I  have 
made  a  covenant  wath  thee  and  with  Israel.  .  .  . 
And  he  wrote  upon  the  tables  the  words  of  the  cove- 
nant, the  ten  commandments."  It  is  another  instance 
of  duplication.  According  to  one  tradition  the  Moral 
Law,  according  to  another  the  Ceremonial  Law,  had 
its  origin  in  the  conference  of  God  with  Moses  on 
Mount  Sinai.  The  code  w^hich  is  recorded  between 
these  decalogues  contains  both  kinds  of  laws,  but  is 
concerned  mainly  with  social  morals. 

Dating  /  and  E,  then,  for  convenience  of  memory, 
in  the  ninth  century,  Deuteronomy  {D)  would  be 
added  to  the  combined  narratives  in  the  seventh  cen- 
tury (621),  and  Leviticus  with  accompanying  history 
and  law  (P)  in  the  fifth  century  (444).    The  editor 


48         HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

(or  group  of  editors),  who  finally  combined  the  four 
source-materials,  as  Tatian  combined  the  four  gos- 
pels, is  called  the  redactor,  and  is  represented  in  the 
Pentateuchal  alphabet  by  the  letter  R.  He  took  for  a 
framework  the  Priestly  Narrative,  with  its  orderly 
succession  of  institutional  origins,  inserted  into  it 
sometimes  /  and  sometimes  E,  where  the  various 
songs,  laws  and  stories  seemed  to  belong,  and  added 
D.  Thus  the  four  strands,  /,  E,  P  and  D,  were  woven 
together  to  make  the  Pentateuch. 


SONGS   AND   STORIES 


y\BOUT  the  year  1000,  there  appeared  two  collec- 
x\.  tions  of  poems,  one  called  the  Book  of  the  Wars 
of  the  Lord,  the  other  called  the  Book  of  Jasher,  or 
"the  Upright."  The  date  is  reckoned  from  the  fact 
that  one  of  the  poems  in  the  Book  of  Jasher  was  the 
elegy  which  David  made  over  Saul  and  Jonathan. 
{II  Sam.  1:19-27.) 

The  oldest  poem  which  is  definitely  quoted  from 
these  books  is  the  Song  of  the  Well,  from  the  Book 
of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord  {Num.  21:14).  The  He- 
brews were  marching  through  the  wilderness  to  the 
invasion  of  Canaan.  A  fragment  of  verse  recites  cer- 
tain stages  of  their  journey: — 

Waheb  in  Sufah  we  passed, 

And  the  valleys  of  Arnon, 

And  the  slope  of  the  valleys 

That  stretches  toward  the  dwelling  of  Ar, 

And  leans  on  the  border  of  Moab. 

There  they  dug  a  well,  apparently  in  an  emergency  of 
great  thirst.  The  princes  and  the  nobles  digged.  And 
having  found  water  and  refreshed  themselves,  they 
sang  this  song : — 

49 


50  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Spring  up,  O  well,  sing  ye  back  to  her : 
The  well  which  the  princes  digged, 
Which  the  nobles  of  the  people  delved. 
With  the  sceptre  and  with  their  staves. 

From  the  same  book  were  probably  taken  the  "taunt 
songs"  which  immediately  follow,  against  Heshbon, 
the  capital  city  of  Sihon,  king  of  the  Amorites. 

Come  ye  to  Heshbon, 

Let  there  be  built  and  set  up  again  the  city  of 
Sihon : 

For  fire  had  gone  forth  from  Heshbon, 

Flame  from  the  city  of  Sihon : 

It  had  devoured  Ar  of  Moab, 

And  consumed  the  high  places  of  Arnon. 

Woe  unto  thee,  Moab, 

Thou  art  undone,  O  people  of  Chemosh, 

He  hath  given  his  sons  as  fugitives, 

His  daughters  to  captivity, 

To  the  king  of  the  Amorites,  Sihon. 

But  we  shot  at  them ;  Heshbon  was  undone 

unto  Dibon, 
And  we  laid  waste  unto  Nophah  which  lies  on 

the  desert. 

It  is  in  a  quotation  from  the  Book  of  Jasher  that 
Joshua  makes  his  famous  appeal  to  the  sun  and  moon 
(Jos.  10:12,  13).  Joshua  was  fighting  against  the 
Amorites  at  the  battle  of  Bethhoron.  As  the  day  pro- 
ceeded with  victory,  and  the  approach  of  evening 
threatened  to  stop  the  slaughter  before  it  was  effec- 
tively finished,  the  Hebrew  captain  lifted  his  hand  to 
heaven,  crying: — 


SONGS    AND    STORIES  51 

Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon  ; 
And  thou,  moon,  in  the  valley  of  Ajalon. 
And  the  sun  stood  still,  and  the  moon  stayed, 
Until  the  people  had  avenged  themselves  upon 
their  enemies. 

For  in  poetry  all  things  are  possible.  A  parallel 
passage  is  in  the  One-hundred-and-fourteenth  Psalm, 
which  says 

When  Israel  went  out  of  Egypt, 

The  house  of  Jacob  from  a  people  of  strange 

language, 
The  mountains  skipped  like  rams. 
And  the  little  hills  like  young  sheep. 

David's  lament  for  Saul  and  Jonathan,  the  latest 
quotation  from  the  Book  of  Jashcr,  has  for  its  occa- 
sion not  a  victory  but  a  dire  defeat.  The  note  is 
sounded  in  the  refrain  with  which  the  elegy  begins 
and  ends : — ^ 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen ! 

In  these  verses  there  is  neither  the  hope  of  eventual 
victory,  nor  the  comfort  of  religion.  They  have  the 
immediacy  of  great  grief,  and  belong  to  the  very  mo- 
ment of  disaster. 

Thy  glory,  O  Israel,  is  slain  upon  thy  high  places ! 
How  are  the  mighty  fallen ! 

Tell  it  not  in  Gath, 

Publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Askelon  ; 

Lest  the  daughters  of  the  Philistines  rejoice, 

Lest  the  daughters  of  the  uncircumcised  triumph. 


52  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

Ye  mountains  of  Gilboa, 

Let  there  be  no  dew,  neither  let  there  be  rain,  upon 

you,  nor  fields  of  offerings : 
For  there  the  shield  of  the  mighty  is  vilely  cast 

away, 
The  shield  of  Saul,  as  though  he  had  not  been 

anointed  with  oil. 

From  the  blood  of  the  slain,  from  the  fat  of  the 

mighty, 
The  bow  of  Jonathan  turned  not  back. 
And  the  sword  of  Saul  returned  not  empty. 
Saul  and  Jonathan  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in 

their  lives. 
And  in  their  death  they  were  not  divided : 
They  were  swifter  than  eagles, 
They  were  stronger  than  lions. 
Ye  daughters  of  Israel,  weep  over  Saul, 
Who  clothed  you  in  scarlet,  with  other  delights, 
Who  put  on  ornaments  of  gold  upon  your  apparel. 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen  in  the  midst  of  the 
battle ! 

0  Jonathan,  thou  wast  slain  in  thine  high  places. 

1  am  distressed  for  thee,  my  brother  Jonathan : 
Very  pleasant  hast  thou  been  unto  me : 

Thy  love  to  me  was  wonderful, 
Passing  the  love  of  women. 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen, 

And  the  weapons  of  war  perished ! 

The  Book  of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord  and  the  Book  of 
Jasher  are  the  only  collections  of  poems  which  are 
quoted  by  name  in  the  earlier  books  of  the  Bible.  But 
these  citations  suf^ce  to  show  that  such  anthologies 
were  being  made,  and  were  being  consulted  by  his- 
torians.   Other  poems  either  came  from  such  collec- 


SONGS    AND    STORIES  53 

tions,  or  were  carried  independently  in  the  memory  of 
the  people. 

A  bit  of  verse  in  Genesis  (4:23,  24)  takes  us  back 
into  the  shadowy  beginnings  of  civilization.  "La- 
mech,"  we  are  told,  "took  unto  him  two  wives:  the 
name  of  one  was  Adah,  and  the  name  of  the  other 
Zillah."  And  Lamech  said  unto  his  wives : — 

Adah  and  Zillah,  Hear  my  voice ; 

Ye  wives  of  Lamech,  hearken  unto  my  speech; 

For  I  have  slain  a  man  to  my  wounding, 

And  a  young  man  to  my  hurt. 

If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  sevenfold, 

Truly  Lamech  seventy  and  sevenfold. 

This  is  the  voice  of  primitive  man,  in  the  jungle. 
Lamech,  having  been  wounded  in  a  fight,  boasts  to  his 
wives  that  he  has  slain  his  enemy.  "Whoever  kills  me," 
he  cries,  "out  of  his  tribe  shall  seventy  and  seven  men 
be  killed  in  vengeance."  These  words,  in  the  parallels 
of  poets,  set  to  some  rude  chant,  made  good  singing 
for  Hebrew  soldiers  by  their  camp-fires. 

Longer  poems,  written  down  out  of  the  national 
memory,  are  the  Song  of  Moses  {Ex,  15)  and  the 
Song  of  Deborah  (Jiid.  5). 

The  people  of  Israel  had  escaped  from  their  long 
bondage  in  Egypt,  and  their  Egyptian  masters  pursu- 
ing them  had  been  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea.  At  least 
the  refrain  of  the  song  may  be  contemporary  with  the 
event.   Moses  and  the  men  sang : — 

I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  glori- 
ously. 
The  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the  sea. 


54  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

And  Miriam,  the  sister  of  Moses,  "took  a  timbrel  in 
her  hand ;  and  all  the  women  went  out  after  her  with 
timbrels  and  dances.    And  Miriam  answered  them"  : — 


Sing  ye  to  the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously. 
The  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the  sea. 


The  verses  between  the  refrain  and  the  response  may 
have  grown  in  number,  and  in  variety  of  reference,  in 
the  singing  of  generations  of  minstrels. 


I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed 

gloriously : 
The  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the 

sea. 
The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  song. 
And  he  is  become  my  salvation : 
He  is  my  God,  and  I  will  praise  him ; 
My  father's  God,  and  I  will  exalt  him. 
The  Lord  is  a  Man  of  war : 
The  Lord  is  his  name 
Pharaoh's  chariots  and  his  host  hath  he  cast  into 

the  sea : 

His  chosen  captains  also  are  drowned  in  the  Red 

Sea. 
The  depths  have  covered  them : 
They  sank  into  the  bottom  as  a  stone. 
Thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,  is  become  glorious  in 

power : 
Thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,  dasheth  in  pieces  the 

enemy. 
And   in   the   greatness   of   thine   excellency  thou 

overthrowest  them  that  rise  up  against  thee: 
Thou  sendest  forth  thy  wrath,  it  consumeth  them 

as  stubble. 


SONGS    AND    STORIES  55 

And  with  the  blast  of  thy  nostrils  the  waters  were 

gathered  together ; 
The  floods  stood  upright  as  an  heap, 
The  deeps  were  congealed  in  the  heart  of  the  sea. 
The  enemy  said, 

"I  will  pursue,  I  will  overtake,  I  will  divide  the 

spoil ; 
My  lust  shall  be  satisfied  upon  them ; 
I  will  draw  my  sword,  my  hand  shall  destroy 
them." 
Thou  didst  blow  with  thy  wind,  the  sea  covered 

them : 
They  sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters. 

Who  is  like  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  among  the  gods  ? 

Who  is  like  unto  thee,  glorious  in  holiness, 

Fearful  in  praises,  doing  wonders? 

Thou  stretchedst  out  thy  right  hand. 

The  earth  swallowed  them. 

Thou  in  thy  mercy  hast  led  forth  the  people  which 

thou  hast  redeemed : 
Thou  hast  guided  them  in  thy  strength  unto  thy 

holy  habitation. 

The  peoples  heard,  they  trembled : 

Fear  hath  taken  hold  on  the  inhabitants  of 
Philistia. 

Then  were  dismayed  the  dukes  of  Edom ; 

The  mighty  men  of  Moab,  trembling  taketh  hold 
of  them ; 

All  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan  are  melted  away ; 

Fear  and  dread  f alleth  upon  them ; 

By  the  greatness  of  Thine  arm  they  are  as  still  as 
a  stone; 

Till  thy  people  pass  over,  O  Lord, 

Till  the  people  pass  over  which  thou  hast  pur- 
chased. 

Thou  shalt  bring  them  in,  and  plant  them  in  the 
mountain  of  thine  inheritance, 

The  place,  O  Lord,  which  thou  hast  made   for 
thee  to  dwell  in. 


56  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

The  Sanctuary,  O  Lord,  which  thy  hands  have 

established. 
The  Lord  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 

The  Song  of  Deborah  celebrates  another  great  de- 
liverance. The  Israelites  had  come  out  of  bondage  in 
Egypt  to  fall  into  bondage  in  Canaan.  The  Canaan- 
ites  had  them  in  such  subjection  that  all  their  armor 
had  been  taken  from  them,  and  they  dared  not  venture 
out  upon  the  highways.  From  this  condition  they  were 
saved  by  the  wisdom  of  Deborah  and  the  courage  of 
Barak.  These  verses  which  exult  in  the  defeat  of 
Sisera  may  have  been  sung  by  the  women  who  greeted 
the  returning  heroes. 

For  that  the  leaders  took  the  lead  in  Israel, 

For  that  the  people  offered  themselves  willingly, 

Bless  ye  the  Lord. 

Hear,  O  ye  kings ;  give  ear,  O  ye  princes ; 

I,  even  I,  will  sing  unto  the  Lord ; 

I  will  sing  praise  to  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel. 

Lord,  when  thou  wentest  forth  out  of  Seir, 
When  thou  marchedst  out  of  the  field  of  Edom, 
The  earth  trembled,  and  the  heavens  dropped. 
The  clouds  also  dropped  water. 
The  mountains  quailed  at  the  presence  of  the 

Lord, 
Even  yon  Sinai  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  the 

God  of  Israel. 

In  the  days  of  Shamgar  the  son  of  Anath, 

In  the  days  of  Jael,  the  highways  were  unoccupied, 

And  the  travellers  walked  through  byways. 

The  villages  were  unoccupied  in  Israel,  they  were 

unoccupied 
Until  that  thou  Deborah  arose,  thou  arose  a 

mother  in  Israel. 


SONGS   AND    STORIES  57 

They  chose  new  gods ; 
Then  was  war  in  the  gates : 
Shield  was  not  seen,  nor  spear 
Among  forty  thousand  in  Israel. 

My  heart  is  toward  the  governors  of  Israel, 
That  offered  themselves  willingly  among  the 

people. 
Bless  ye  the  Lord. 

Tell  of  it,  ye  that  ride  on  white  asses, 
Ye  that  sit  upon  carpets, 
Ye  too  that  but  walk  by  the  way. 
Far  from  the  noise  of  archers,  in  the  places  of 

drawing  water. 
There  shall  they  rehearse  the  righteous  acts  of 

the  Lord, 
The  righteous  acts  of  His  governance  in  Israel. 

Then  came  down  to  the  gates  the  people  of  the 

Lord. 
Awake,  awake,  Deborah ; 
Awake,  awake,  utter  a  song : 
And  lead  thy  captors  captive,  thou  son  of  Abin- 

oam. 
Then  came  down  a  remnant  against  the  mighty. 
The  people  of  the  Lord  came  down  for  me  against 

the  strong. 
From  Ephraim  came  down  they  whose  root  is  in 

Amalek ; 
After  thee,  Benjamin,  among  thy  peoples ; 
Out  of  Machir  came  down  governors, 
And  out  of  Zebulun  they  that  handle  the  marshal's 

staff. 
And  my  princes  in  Issachar  were  with  Deborah ; 
As  was  Issachar,  so  was  Barak. 

By  the  watercourses  of  Reuben  were  there  great 

searchings  of  heart. 
Why  satest  thou  among  the  sheepfolds? 
To  hear  the  bleatings  of  the  flocks  I 


58  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

By  the  watercourses  of  Reuben  were  there  great 

searchings  of  heart. 
Gilead  abode  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan ; 
And  Dan,  why  did  he  remain  in  ships? 
Asher  sat  still  at  the  shore  of  the  sea. 
And  abode  by  his  creeks. 

Zebulun  is  a  people  that  jeoparded  his  life  unto  the 

death, 
And  Naphtali  upon  the  high  places  of  the  field. 
The  kings  came  ;  they  fought ; 
Then  fought  the  kings  of  Canaan, 
In  Taanach  by  the  waters  of  Megiddo; 
Gain  of  money  took  they  none ! 
They  fought  from  heaven, 
The  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera. 
The  river  Kishon  swept  them  away. 
That  ancient  river,  the  river  Kishon. 
March  on,  my  soul,  with  might. 
Then  did  the  horsehoofs  stamp. 
By  the  pransings,  the  pransings  of  their  strong 

ones. 
Curse  ye  Meroz,  said  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
Curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof ; 
Because  they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord, 
To  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty. 

Blessed  above  women  be  Jael, 

The  wife  of  Heber  the  Kenite, 

Above  women  in  the  tent  shall  she  be  blessed. 

Water  did  he  ask,  milk  did  she  give ; 

She  brought  him  butter  in  a  lordly  dish. 

She  put  her  hand  to  the  nail. 

And  her  right  hand  to  the  workmen's  hammer; 

And  with  the  hammer  she  smote  Sisera, 

She  smote  through  his  head. 

And  she  pierced  and  struck  through  his  temples. 

At  her  feet  he  bowed,  he  fell,  he  lay  ; 

At  her  feet  he  bowed,  he  fell : 

Where  he  bowed,  there  he  fell  down  dead- 


SONGS    AND    STORIES  59 

Through  the  window  she  gazed  forth,  and  cried, 

The  mother  of  Sisera  cried  through  the  lattice: 

Why  is  his  chariot  so  long  in  coming? 

Why  tarry  the  wheels  of  his  chariots  ? 

Her  wise  ladies  answered  her, 

Yea,  she  returned  answer  to  herself, 

Surely  they  have  found,  they  have  divided  the 

spoil  ; 
A  damsel,  two  damsels  to  every  man ; 
A  spoil  of  divers  colours  for  Sisera, 
A  spoil  of  divers  colours  of  needlework. 
Of  divers  colours  two  pieces  of  needlework  for  the 

neck  of  the  queen. 

So  let  all  thine  enemies  perish,  O  Lord : 
But  let  them  that  love  him  be  as  the  sun  when  he 
goeth  forth  in  his  might. 

Neither  the  minstrels  who  sang,  nor  the  men  of  war 
who  listened  to  their  singing,  were  disturbed  in  con- 
science by  Jael's  vengeance  upon  Sisera.  They  would 
not  have  understood  our  discussion  of  the  ethics  of 
hospitality.  The  fact  assists  us  to  date  the  poem  in  the 
time  which  it  describes.  It  breathes  the  fierceness  of 
men  who  in  the  midst  of  battle  have  no  other  thought 
than  the  destruction  of  their  adversaries. 

A  group  of  poems,  the  Oracles  of  Bala<im  [Num. 
23,  24),  and  a  collection  of  tribal  songs  woven  together 
in  the  Blessing  of  Jacob  {Gen.  49),  are  still  in  some 
measure  hymns  of  hate,  but  their  fierceness  is  miti- 
gated by  distance  from  the  stricken  field.  They  are  in 
the  spirit  of  those  who  having  come  through  great 
strife  are  settled  at  last  in  the  land  which  they  have 
conquered. 

Notice  in  passing  that  in  the  Pentateuchal  alphabet 


60  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

it  is  /  in  whose  narrative  the  serpent  speaks  in  Eden, 
and  /  again  in  whose  story  the  ass  speaks  as  she  car- 
ries Balaam  along  the  path  of  the  vineyards.  Of  the 
two  writers,  /  and  E,  it  is  /  who  makes  these  little 
sketches  of  talking  beasts,  and  angels  with  flaming 
swords,  in  the  margins  of  the  sober  history. 

Balak,  king  of  Moab,  in  dread  of  the  impending 
invasion  of  the  advancing  Hebrews,  has  sent  for  a 
famous  soothsayer,  Balaam,  to  curse  them.  Balaam  is 
to  pronounce  a  malediction  which  shall  take  the 
strength  from  their  arms,  and  the  courage  from  their 
hearts,  and  shall  deliver  them  into  defeat.  But  this 
pagan  seer  is  inspired  of  God.  As  Melchizedek,  king 
of  Salem,  was  a  true  priest  of  the  Most  High  God 
{Gen.  14:18),  so  Balaam  is  a  true  prophet.  The  gift 
of  inspiration  overpasses  the  boundaries  of  religion. 
"God  came  unto  Balaam,"  as  he  came  to  Confucius, 
to  Zoroaster,  to  men  of  religion  who  had  no  place  in 
either  the  Old  Testament  or  the  New.  The  conse- 
quence is  that  Balaam  blesses  the  enemies  of  Balak 
instead  of  cursing  them. 

Of  the  five  Oracles  of  Balaam,  here  are  the  third 
and  fourth : — 

iii 

Balaam  the  son  of  Beor  saith, 

And  the  man  whose  eye  was  closed  saith : 

He  saith,  which  heareth  the  words  of  God, 

Which  seeth  the  vision  of  the  Almighty, 

Falling  down,  and  having  his  eyes  open : 

How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  O  Jacob, 

Thy  tabernacles,  O  Israel ! 

As  valleys  are  they  spread  forth. 


SONGS    AND    STORIES  61 

As  gardens  by  the  river's  side, 

As  the  trees  of  Hgn-aloes  which  the  Lord  hath 

planted, 
As  cedar  trees  beside  the  waters. 
Water  shall  flow  from  his  buckets, 
And  his  seed  shall  be  in  many  waters, 
And  his  king  shall  be  higher  than  Agag, 
And  his  kingdom  shall  be  exalted. 
God  brought  him  forth  out  of  Egypt; 
He  hath  as  it  were  the  swiftness  of  the  wild  ox; 
He  shall  eat  up  the  nations  his  enemies. 
And  their  bones  shall  he  break  in  pieces. 
And  pierce  them  through  with  his  arrows. 
He  couched,  he  lay  down  as  a  lion. 
And  as  a  lioness :  who  shall  stir  him  up  ? 
Blessed  be  he  that  blesseth  thee. 
And  cursed  be  he  that  curseth  thee. 


IV 


Balaam  the  son  of  Beor  saith, 

And  the  man  whose  eye  was  closed  saith : 

He  saith,  which  heareth  the  words  of  God, 

And  knoweth  the  knowledge  of  the  Most  High, 

Which  seeth  the  vision  of  the  Almighty, 

Falling  down,  and  having  his  eyes  open: 

I  shall  see  him,  but  not  now : 

I  shall  behold  him,  but  not  nigh : 

There  shall  come  a  star  out  of  Jacob, 

And  a  sceptre  shall  rise  out  of  Israel, 

And  shall  smite  through  the  temples  of  Moab, 

And  the  skull  of  the  sons  of  tumult. 

And  Edom  shall  be  a  possession, 

Seir  also  shall  be  a  possession,  which  were  his 

enemies. 
And  Israel  shall  do  valiantly. 
Let  him  that  shall  have  dominion  come  from 

Jacob, 
And  let  him  destroy  the  remnant  from  the  city. 


62  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

In  the  Blessing  of  Jacob  (Gen.  49),  and  in  a  similar 
poem,  the  Blessing  of  Moses  (Deut  33),  the  tribes  are 
settled  in  the  Promised  Land.  In  each  of  the  poems 
the  benediction  of  exceeding  prosperity  is  given  to  the 
tribe  of  Joseph,  whose  sons  Ephraim  and  Manasseh 
took  possession  of  the  middle  and  the  north. 

Thus  in  the  Blessing  of  Jacob: — ' 

Joseph  is  a  fruitful  bough, 
A  fruitful  bough  by  a  fountain ; 
His  branches  run  over  the  wall: 
The  archers  have  sorely  grieved  him, 
And  shot  at  him,  and  persecuted  him : 
But  his  bow  abode  in  strength. 
And  the  arms  of  his  hands  were  made  strong 
By  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob ; 
(From  thence  is  the  shepherd,  the  stone  of 

Israel:) 
Even  by  the  God  of  thy  father,  who  shall  help 

thee; 
And  by  the  Almighty,  who  shall  bless  thee 
With  blessings  of  heaven  above. 
Blessings  of  the  deep  that  lieth  under. 
Blessings  of  the  breasts,  and  of  the  womb. 
The  blessings  of  thy  father 

Have  prevailed  above  the  blessings  of  my  progen- 
itors 
Unto  the  utmost  bound  of  the  everlasting  hills : 
They  shall  be  on  the  head  of  Joseph, 
And  on  the  crown  of  the  head  of  him  that  is  prince 
among  his  brethren. 

And  in  the  Blessing  of  Moses: — : 

Blessed  of  the  Lord  be  his  land. 

For  the  precious  things  in  heaven,  for  the  dew. 

And  for  the  deep  that  coucheth  beneath, 

And  for  the  precious  fruits  brought  forth  by  the  sun, 


SONGS   AND    STORIES  63 

And  for  the  precious  things  put  forth  by  the  moon. 
And  for  the  chief  things  of  the  ancient  mountains, 
And  for  the  precious  things  of  the  everlasting  hills. 
And  for  the  precious  things  of  the  earth,  and  the  ful- 
ness thereof. 
And  for  the  good  will  of  him  that  dwelt  in  the  bush : 
Let  the  blessing  come  upon  the  head  of  Joseph, 
And  on  the  crown  of  the  head  of  the  prince  among  his 

brethren. 
The  firstling  of  his  bullock,  majesty  is  his, 
As  the  horns  of  the  wild-ox  are  his  horns ; 
With  them  shall  he  thrust  the  peoples  all  of  them : 
They  are  the  ten  thousands  of  Ephraim, 
They  are  the  thousands  of  Manasseh. 

In  these  lines  the  strife  of  war  is  at  a  distance,  and 
the  people  have  entered  into  the  satisfactions  of  peace. 
They  have  beaten  their  swords  into  plowshares.  The 
Blessing  of  Moses  ends  with  the  high  praise  of  God, 
who  has  given  his  people  the  good  land. 

There  is  none  like  unto  the  God  of  Jeshurun, 

Who  rideth  upon  the  heaven  for  thy  help, 

And  in  his  excellency  on  the  skies. 

The  eternal  God  is  thy  refuge, 

And  underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms : 

And  he  thrust  out  the  enemy  from  before  thee ; 

And  said.  Destroy. 

And  so  Israel  dwelt  in  safety : 

Secluded  was  Jacob's  fount, 

In  a  land  of  corn  and  wine ; 

Also  his  heavens  dropped  dew. 

Happy  art  thou,  O  Israel :  who  is  like  unto  thee, 

A  people  saved  by  the  Lord, 

The  shield  of  thy  help. 

And  the  sword  of  thy  excellency ! 

And  thy  foes  shall  fawn  upon  thee ; 

And  thou — on  their  high  places  shalt  thou  tread. 


64         HOW  TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

A  second  Song  of  Moses  {Dent.  32)  deals  with  the 
long  war  which  followed  the  conquest  of  Canaan.  For 
it  came  to  pass,  as  in  other  cases  where  the  men  of 
the  woods  or  of  the  wilderness  defeated  the  men  of 
the  cities,  that  the  defeated  people  profoundly  affected 
the  lives  of  their  conquerors.  The  Hebrews  were 
tempted  away  from  the  austerity  and  simplicity  of  the 
desert  by  the  customs  of  the  more  civilized  people 
whose  lands  they  had  taken.  They  felt  the  fascination 
of  the  new  shrines,  the  new  rites,  and  the  new  gods. 
Thus  began  a  spiritual  combat  which  continued  for 
generations,  in  which  the  prophets  were  the  captains 
of  the  Lord.    The  Song  is  in  the  spirit  of  the  prophets. 

Give  ear,  O  ye  heavens,  and  I  will  speak ; 

And  hear,  O  earth,  the  words  of  my  mouth. 

My  doctrine  shall  drop  as  the  rain. 

My  speech  shall  distil  as  the  dew. 

As  the  small  rain  upon  the  tender  herb, 

And  as  the  showers  upon  the  grass : 

Because  I  will  publish  the  name  of  the  Lord : 

Ascribe  ye  greatness  unto  our  God. 

He  is  the  Rock,  his  work  is  perfect: 

For  all  his  ways  are  judgment : 

A  God  of  truth  and  without  iniquity, 

Just  and  right  is  he. 

They  have  dealt  corruptly  with  him,  not  his 

sons  are  they  but  their  own  shame : 
A  perverse  and  crooked  generation. 
Do  ye  thus  requite  the  Lord, 
O  foolish  people  and  unwise  ? 
Is  not  he  thy  father  that  hath  bought  thee? 
He  hath  made  thee,  and  established  thee. 
Remember  the  days  of  old, 
Consider  the  years  of  many  generations : 


SONGS   AND    STORIES  65 

Ask  thy  father,  and  he  will  shew  thee ; 

Thine  elders,  and  they  will  tell  thee. 

When  the  Highest  gave  nations  their  heritage, 

When  he  sundered  the  children  of  men, 

He  set  the  borders  of  the  peoples 

By  the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

For  the  Lord's  portion  is  his  people ; 

Jacob  is  the  lot  of  his  inheritance. 

He  found  him  in  a  desert  land, 

And  in  the  waste  howling  wilderness ; 

He  compassed  him  about,  he  cared  for  him. 

He  kept  him  as  the  apple  of  his  eye. 

As  an  eagle  stirreth  up  his  nest, 

Fluttereth  over  his  young, 

Spreadeth  abroad  his  wings, 

Taketh  them, 

Beareth  them  on  his  pinions ; 

So  the  Lord  alone  d;d  lead  him, 

And  there  was  no  strange  god  with  him. 

He  made  him  to  ride  on  the  high  places  of  the 

earth. 
And  to  eat  the  increase  of  the  fields ; 
And  he  made  him  to  suck  honey  out  of  the  cliff. 
And  oil  out  of  the  flinty  rock ; 
Butter  of  kine,  and  milk  of  sheep, 
With  lambs'  fat,  and  rams, 
Breed  of  Bashan,  and  he  goats. 
With  fat  of  the  kidneys  of  wheat ; 
And  the  blood  of  the  grape  thou  drankest  in 

foam. 

But  Jeshurun  waxed  fat,  and  kicked : 

Thou  art  waxen  fat,  thou  art  grown  thick,  thou 

art  become  sleek ; 
Then  he  forsook  God  which  made  him. 
And  lightly  esteemed  the  Rock  of  his  salvation. 
They  provoked  him  to  jealousy  with  strange 

gods, 
With  abominations  provoked  they  him  to  anger. 
They  sacrificed  to  demons,  which  were  no  gods ; 


66         HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

To  gods  whom  they  knew  not, 

To  new  gods  that  came  up  of  late 

Whom  your  fathers  feared  not. 

Of  the  Rock  that  begat  thee  thou  art  unmindful, 

And  hast  forgotten  God  that  gave  thee  birth. 

And  when  the  Lord  saw  it,  he  abhorred  them, 

Because  of  the  provocation  of  his  sons  and  of 

his  daughters. 
And  he  said,  I  will  hide  my  face  from  them, 
I  will  see  what  their  end  shall  be ; 
For  they  are  a  very  f roward  generation, 
Children  in  whom  is  no  faith. 

So  the  Song  proceeds  in  terms  of  strong  condemna- 
tion. 


The  memory  of  the  people  in  the  time  of  David  and 
Solomon,  about  the  year  1000,  was  thus  filled  with  the 
verses  of  songs  and  poems  which  were  even  then  an- 
cient.   And  also  with  the  memory  of  ancient  stories. 

Some  of  these  stories  are  so  old  that  they  antedate 
the  time  when  Abraham  set  out  to  go  from  the  land  of 
the  Euphrates  to  find  a  dwelling  in  the  land  of  the 
Jordan.  He  brought  these  tales  with  him.  Such,  for 
example,  is  the  story  of  the  Flood. 

Excavation  of  the  ruins  of  Babylon  has  brought  to 
light  the  library  of  King  Asshurbanipal.  Among  his 
books — which  were  made  of  thick  sheets  of  clay,  and 
so  have  outlasted  the  weather  of  centuries — was  found 
the  long  Epic  of  Gilgamesh,  and  in  the  eleventh  canto 
of  this  poem  was  found  the  story  of  the  Flood  as  it 
was  told  at  a  time  which  scholars  reckon  to  have  been 
about  the  year  2000. 


SONGS    AND    STORIES  67 

The  Noah  of  this  story  is  told  to  build  a  ship  for 
the  saving  of  his  life,  and  to  cause  all  kinds  of  living 
things  to  go  into  it.  "Let  its  form  be  long,  and  its 
breadth  equal  to  its  length.  On  the  great  deep  launch 
it."  This  he  does,  and  makes  it  tight  with  pitch  and 
bitumen.  Then  comes  a  fearful  tempest  which  terri- 
fies even  the  gods,  who  "cowered  like  dogs  at  the  edge 
of  the  heavens."  The  tempest  continues,  with  "wind 
and  flood  and  storm,"  for  six  days.  When  on  the 
seventh  day  the  rain  abates,  the  sea  is  calm,  the  tem- 
pestuous wind  is  still,  and  the  flood  ceases,  "I  looked 
for  the  race  of  mortals,"  says  the  hero,  "but  every 
voice  was  hushed,  and  all  mankind  had  been  turned 
to  clay.  After  twenty-four  hours  an  island  rose  up, 
the  ship  approached  the  mountain  Nisir.  When  the 
seventh  day  arrived,  I  sent  forth  a  dove  and  let  it 
loose.  The  dove  went  forth,  but  came  back;  because 
it  found  no  resting-place,  it  returned.  Then  I  sent 
forth  a  swallow,  but  it  came  back ;  because  it  found  no 
resting-place,  it  returned.  Then  I  sent  forth  a  raven 
and  let  it  loose.  The  raven  went  forth  and  saw  that 
the  waters  had  decreased ;  it  fed,  it  waded,  it  croaked, 
and  did  not  return.  Then  I  sent  forth  ever3^hing  in 
all  directions,  and  offered  a  sacrifice."  The  gods  came 
to  the  sacrifice,  inhaling  the  sweet  odor;  and  the  god 
who  had  caused  the  flood  seized  the  hands  of  the  hero 
and  his  wife,  and  made  them  kneel  before  him,  and 
declared  that  now  this  man  and  his  wife  shall  be  gods 
like  us.  "Then  they  took  me,  and  made  me  dwell  in 
the  distance,  at  the  confluences  of  the  streams." 

Into  this  story,  told  and  retold,  generation  after 


68  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

generation,  through  many  centuries,  the  Hebrews 
brought  their  better  knowledge  of  God.  The  gods  dis- 
appear, and  their  place  is  taken  by  the  Lord  of  all  the 
earth.  The  cause  of  the  flood  is  not  a  divine  caprice, 
but  a  divine  purpose  to  make  a  better  race  of  men  by 
beginning  over  again  with  a  new  Adam  and  Eve  on 
Mt.  Ararat.  After  the  flood,  the  bow  in  the  cloud  is 
made  a  sign  of  the  divine  patience. 

The  value  of  most  of  these  stories,  however,  is  not 
in  their  great  age,  nor  in  any  moral  which  they  teach, 
but  consists  altogether  in  their  simple  human  interest. 
If  any  of  them  represent,  as  some  say,  the  migrations 
and  relationships  of  tribes  and  families,  only  the  most 
diligent  scholars  shall  ever  find  it  out.  Nor  is  their 
interest  obscured  by  the  fact  that  their  scenes  are  laid 
in  Asia.  The  men  and  women  of  these  stories  are  of 
our  own  kind  and  kin,  and  the  tales  that  are  told  about 
them  are  true  to  human  nature  as  we  know  it.  More- 
over, the  manner  of  the  telling  has  the  perfection 
which  is  gained  only  by  the  process  of  centuries  of 
repetition. 

The  longest  of  the  stories  deals  with  the  Adventures 
of  Joseph,  who  being  sold  by  his  brethren  as  a  slave 
becomes  the  governor  of  all  the  land  of  Egypt.  The 
most  charming  of  them  is  the  pleasant  and  peaceful 
tale  of  the  Wooing  of  Rehekah.  It  comes  in  among 
the  songs  of  war,  and  the  accounts  of  battles,  like  the 
shining  of  a  clear  day  in  the  midst  of  a  season  of  tem- 
pestuous weather. 


VI 

THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

THE  narratives  of  Joshua  and  Judges  have  all  the 
picturesque  qualities  of  the  narratives  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch :  for  they  belong  to  the  same  period,  and  are 
the  result  of  the  same  process.  They  were  shaped  not 
by  literary  composition  but  by  popular  recitation.  They 
were  told  for  centuries  before  they  were  written. 

If  these  books  were  printed  like  other  books,  one  of 
the  differences  between  these  histories  and  other  his- 
tories would  be  evident  to  every  reader.  History  is 
commonly  written  in  solid  paragraphs,  but  these  pages, 
if  they  were  normally  printed,  would  show  the  brief 
and  lively  paragraphing  which  is  used  in  accounts  of 
conversation.  The  numbered  verses  disguise  the  fact 
that  the  people  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  of  Joshua  and 
Judges,  are  always  talking.  An  unfailing  human  in- 
terest is  imparted  to  these  narratives  by  the  fact  that 
these  men  and  women  speak  for  themselves. 

It  is  plain  that  such  conversation  has  no  basis  in 
contemporary  records.  Nobody  took  down  these 
words.  Neither  Abraham  nor  Isaac  recorded  what 
they  said,  the  one  to  the  other,  on  their  way  to  the 
mountain  of  the  sacrifice.  Neither  Moses  nor  Joshua 
recorded  what  they  said  as  they  came  down  from  Sinai 
and  heard  shouting  and  singing  in  the  camp.  The  nar- 

69 


70  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

rator  knew  that  they  said  something:  they  did  not 
walk  in  silence.  He  asked  himself  what  they  probably 
said  under  such  circumstances,  and  he  found  an  an- 
swer in  his  imagination.  His  purpose  was  to  make  the 
situation  real  to  his  hearers  or  his  readers,  and  this  he 
did  in  the  most  natural  way  by  dramatizing  it.  This 
is  a  liberty  into  which  the  modem  historian  will  not 
venture,  but  the  ancient  historian  had  no  such  scruple. 
Accordingly,  the  history  of  the  Hebrews  in  Genesis 
and  Exodus,  in  Joshua  and  Judges,  differs  from  the 
history  of  the  Romans  in  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall  as 
the  Henry  the  Eighth  of  Shakespeare  differs  from  the 
Henry  the  Eighth  of  Froude.  It  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  the  Bible  history  has  kept  its  interest  through  all 
these  hundred  of  years. 

The  narratives  of  Joshua  and  Judges  which  agree 
with  the  narratives  of  the  Pentateuch  in  dramatic 
form,  differ  from  them  in  being  made  to  serve  a  moral 
purpose.  The  story  of  the  Wooing  of  Rebekah  has  no 
moral.  It  is  simply  a  delightful  tale  of  a  faithful  serv- 
ant and  a  charming  maiden.  But  the  story  of  the 
Siege  of  Ai  (Jos.  8)  includes  an  explanation  of  the 
moral  reasons  on  account  of  which  the  Hebrews  were 
defeated.  The  army  of  Joshua  had  attacked  Ai  and 
been  repulsed. 

And  Joshua  rent  his  clothes,  and  fell  to  the  earth  upon 
his  face  before  the  ark  of  the  Lord  until  the  eventide,  he 
and  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  put  dust  upon  their  heads. 
And  Joshua  said : — "Alas,  O  Lord  God,  wherefore  hast 
thou  at  all  brought  this  people  over  Jordan,  to  deliver 
us  into  the  hand  of  the  Amorites,  to  destroy  us  ?  would  to 
pod  we  had  been  content,  and  dwelt  on  the  other  side 


THE   CONQUEST    OF    CANAAN         71 

Jordan!  O  Lord,  what  shall  I  say,  when  Israel  turneth 
their  backs  before  their  enemies !  For  the  Canaanites  and 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  shall  hear  of  it,  and  shall 
environ  us  round,  and  cut  off  our  name  from  the  earth : 
and  what  wilt  thou  do  unto  thy  great  name?"  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Joshua: — "Get  thee  up;  wherefore  liest 
thou  thus  upon  thy  face?  Israel  hath  sinned,  and  they 
have  also  transgressed  my  covenant  which  I  commanded 
them :  for  they  have  even  taken  of  the  devoted  thing,  and 
have  also  stolen,  and  dissembled  also,  and  they  have  put 
it  even  among  their  own  stuff.  Therefore  the  children  of 
Israel  could  not  stand  before  their  enemies,  but  turned 
their  backs  before  their  enemies,  because  they  are  be- 
come devoted:  neither  will  I  be  with  you  any  more,  ex- 
cept ye  destroy  the  devoted  thing  from  among  you.  Up, 
sanctify  the  people,  and  say.  Sanctify  yourselves  against 
to-morrow :  for  thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  There 
is  a  devoted  thing  in  the  midst  of  thee,  O  Israel:  thou 
canst  not  stand  before  thine  enemies,  until  ye  take  away 
the  devoted  thing  from  among  you.  In  the  morning 
therefore  ye  shall  be  brought  according  to  your  tribes : 
and  it  shall  be,  that  the  tribe  which  the  Lord  taketh  shall 
come  according  to  the  families  thereof ;  and  the  family 
which  the  Lord  shall  take  shall  come  by  households ;  and 
the  household  which  the  Lord  shall  take  shall  come  man 
by  man.  And  it  shall  be,  that  he  that  is  taken  with  the 
devoted  thing  shall  be  burnt  with  fire,  he  and  all  that  he 
hath:  because  he  hath  transgressed  the  covenant  of  the 
Lord,  and  because  he  hath  wrought  folly  in  Israel." 

So  they  made  an  investigation  and  found  that  Achan 
had  stolen  from  the  spoils  of  Jericho  a  wedge  of  gold, 
and  two  hundred  shekels  of  silver,  and  a  goodly  Baby- 
lonish garment.  Him  they  stoned  to  death,  together 
with  his  sons  and  daughters,  and  burned  them  with 
fire.  The  cause  of  defeat  being  thus  removed,  they 
went  on  to  victory. 

This  moralizing  of  the  narrative  appears  again  and 


72  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

again  in  Judges.  The  book  is  made  to  illustrate  a 
proposition  which  is  stated  repeatedly.  This  proposi- 
tion is  set  forth  in  its  simplest  form  in  the  account  of 
the  deliverance  at  the  hand  of  Othniel  {^Jud.  3:1-11). 

And  the  children  of  Israel  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  and  forgat  the  Lord  their  God,  and  served  the  Baa- 
lim and  the  Asherim.  Therefore  the  anger  of  the  Lord 
was  hot  against  Israel,  and  he  sold  them  into  the  hand  of 
Chushan-rishathaim  king  of  Mesopotamia:  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  served  Chushan-rishathaim  eight  years. 
And  when  the  children  of  Israel  cried  unto  the  Lord,  the 
Lord  raised  up  a  deliverer  to  the  children  of  Israel,  who 
delivered  them,  even  Othniel  the  son  of  Kenaz,  Caleb's 
younger  brother.  And  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon 
him,  and  he  judged  Israel,  and  went  out  to  war :  and  the 
Lord  delivered  Chushan-rishathaim  king  of  Mesopotamia 
into  his  hand ;  and  his  hand  prevailed  against  Chushan- 
rishathaim.    And  the  land  had  rest  forty  years. 

The  same  sequence  introduces  the  exploits  of  Gid- 
eon. The  people  forsake  the  Lord  and  do  evil;  there- 
fore the  Lord  gives  them  over  to  the  oppression  of 
enemies;  at  last  they  cry  to  the  Lord  for  help;  and  the 
Lord  sends  a  savior. 

This  idea  that  if  the  people  sin  they  shall  be  de- 
feated, and  if  they  repent  they  shall  be  delivered,  is 
characteristic  of  Deuteronomy.  It  was  profoundly  im- 
pressed by  that  book  upon  the  mind  of  Israel. 

The  problem  of  pain  has  occupied  the  thoughts  of 
men  from  time  immemorial.  Why  do  we  suffer  ?  Why 
is  life  so  hard ?  Why  do  our  foes  have  the  upper  hand? 
Even  so  early  as  the  story  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  an 
answer  was  given  to  these  questions  in  terms  of  sin. 
We  suffer  because  we  disobey.    God  forsakes  us  be- 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    CANAAN         7Z 

cause  we  have  forsaken  him.  In  the  book  of  D enter- 
onomy  this  interpretation  of  Hfe  received  its  supreme 
statement. 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  thou  shalt  hearken  dili- 
gently unto  the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  to  observe 
and  to  do  all  his  commandments  which  I  command  thee 
this  day,  that  the  Lord  thy  God  will  set  thee  on  high 
above  all  nations  of  the  earth:  and  all  these  blessings 
shall  come  on  thee,  and  overtake  thee,  if  thou  shalt 
hearken  unto  the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God. 

Blessed  shalt  thou  be  in  the  city,  and  blessed  shalt  thou 
be  in  the  field.  Blessed  shall  be  the  fruit  of  thy  body,  and 
the  fruit  of  thy  ground,  and  the  fruit  of  thy  cattle,  the 
increase  of  thy  kine,  and  the  flocks  of  thy  sheep.  Blessed 
shall  be  thy  basket  and  thy  store.  Blessed  shalt  thou  be 
when  thou  comest  in,  and  blessed  shalt  thou  be  when  thou 
goest  out. 

The  Lord  shall  cause  thine  enemies  that  rise  up  against 
thee  to  be  smitten  before  thy  face:  they  shall  come  out 
against  thee  one  way,  and  flee  before  thee  seven  ways. 

But  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  thou  wilt  not  hearken  unto 
the  voice  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  to  observe  to  do  all  his 
commandments  and  his  statutes  which  I  command  thee 
this  day;  that  all  these  curses  shall  come  upon  thee,  and 
overtake  thee : 

Cursed  shalt  thou  be  in  the  city,  and  cursed  shalt  thou 
be  in  the  field.  Cursed  shall  be  thy  basket  and  thy  store. 
Cursed  shall  be  the  fruit  of  thy  body,  and  the  fruit  of  thy 
land,  the  increase  of  thy  kine,  and  the  flocks  of  thy  sheep. 
Cursed  shalt  thou  be  when  thou  comest  in,  and  cursed 
shalt  thou  be  when  thou  goest  out.  The  Lord  shall  send 
upon  thee  cursing,  vexation,  and  rebuke,  in  all  that  thou 
settest  thine  hand  unto  for  to  do,  until  thou  be  destroyed, 
and  until  thou  perish  quickly ;  because  of  the  wickedness 
of  thy  doings,  whereby  thou  hast  forsaken  me. 

And  so  on,  curse  after  curse. 

When  we  come  from  the  ancient  stories  of  the  Pen- 


74         HOW  TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

tateuch  to  the  ancient  stories  of  Joshua  and  Judges 
— all  of  them  old  by  the  year  1000 — and  find  that  in 
these  two  books  the  stories  are  not  only  told  but  moral- 
ized, the  inference  is  that  JosUua  and  Judges  in  their 
present  form  followed  the  publication  of  Deuteron- 
omy. They  reveal  the  Deuteronomic  influence.  The 
fact  that  two  stories,  which  make  an  appendix  to 
Judges, — the  Migration  of  Dan  and  the  Punishment 
of  Benjamin, — are  not  moralized  like  the  others,  but 
are  outside  of  the  Deuteronomic  framework,  suggests 
that  there  was  an  earlier  and  larger  collection  of  tales 
of  adventure  out  of  which  were  at  first  selected  only 
such  as  illustrated  the  Deuteronomic  moral.  It  seemed 
then  that  the  best  thing  to  do  with  the  escapades  of 
Dan  and  Benjamin  was  to  forget  them.  Afterward, 
they  were  added  to  the  book,  being  too  interesting  to 
be  left  out. 

The  most  important  inference,  however,  from  the 
Deuteronomic  element  in  these  books  has  regard  not 
to  their  date  but  to  their  general  purpose.  They  had 
a  moral  purpose.  It  is  significant  that  in  the  Hebrew 
Bible  the  historians  are  called  prophets,  i.  e.  preachers. 
The  prophetical  books  in  the  order  of  that  collection 
include  not  only  the  writings  of  Isaiah  and  the  others 
whom  we  call  prophets,  but  also  the  books  of  Joshua, 
Judges,  Samuel  and  Kings.  These  are  entitled  "the 
former  prophets."  It  means  that  these  historians  were 
primarily  teachers  of  religion.  Their  purpose  was  not 
so  much  to  inform  as  to  improve  their  readers. 

The  modern  historian  is  in  search  of  facts.  He 
would  find  out,  and  tell  us,  exactly  what  happened, 


THE   CONQUEST    OF    CANAAN         75 

and  why  and  how  it  happened.  If  in  the  progress  of 
his  researches  he  comes  upon  two  rehable  sources  one 
of  which  states  the  matter  in  one  way,  and  the  other 
in  a  different  way,  he  can  not  rest  content  until  he 
has  determined  which  is  right  and  which  is  wrong. 
This  is  because  he  is  primarily  an  historian.  He  may 
have  political  prejudices ;  his  history  may  be  written  as 
an  argument  to  prove  a  proposition ;  even  so,  the  pres- 
ence of  conflicting  statements  distresses  him  like  a 
pain.  He  is  irresistibly  impelled  to  decide  the  conflict 
by  some  sort  of  solution. 

That  the  men  who  wrote  the  historical  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  were  not  of  this  mind  is  made  evident 
by  the  fact  of  duplication.  We  find  them  setting  down 
side  by  side  different  accounts  of  the  same  event,  be- 
tween which  we  are  left  to  make  our  own  choice.  The 
difference  does  not  disturb  them,  because  they  are  in- 
terested not  so  much  in  the  facts  as  in  the  truths  which 
are  at  the  heart  of  the  facts.  The  modern  historian  is 
like  the  draughtsman  who  draws  the  plans  of  a  cathe- 
dral. The  ancient  historian  was  like  the  artist  who 
makes  a  picture  of  a  cathedral.  The  artist  is  not  greatly 
concerned  about  the  details ;  what  he  would  reproduce 
is  an  impression.  He  would  represent  the  antiquity, 
the  solemnity,  the  sense  of  reverence  and  worship, 
which  the  building  embodies.  If  the  draughtsman 
should  criticize  the  picture,  pointing  out  a  defect  in 
the  curve  of  an  arch  or  a  disproportion  in  the  shape 
of  a  turret,  the  artist  might  well  reply  that  his  work 
was  not  intended  for  the  guidance  of  masons  or  car- 
penters, but  for  lovers  of  beauty  or  of  religion. 


76  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

The  Old  Testament  historian  was  tolerant  of  dupli- 
cation and  difference  in  his  narrative  not  only  by  rea- 
son of  his  purpose,  but  by  reason  of  his  method.  This 
was  quite  unlike  the  procedure  of  the  writer  of  his- 
tory to-day.  The  modern  historian  having  studied  the 
period  with  which  he  intends  to  deal,  having  patiently 
and  carefully  read  whatever  was  written  about  it  by 
those  who  lived  in  it,  and  having  thus  acquired  not 
only  a  knowledge  of  its  facts  but  an  understanding  of 
its  spirit,  sets  down  what  he  has  learned,  in  his  own 
words.  The  Old  Testament  historian  was  a  collector 
of  documents.  He  gathered  what  he  could  of  the  rec- 
ords of  old  time,  and  made  his  history  by  piecing  them 
together.  Songs,  stories,  codes  of  law,  court  annals, 
genealogies,  biographies, — everything  was  welcome  to 
him  which  threw  light  on  the  past  of  his  people,  and 
revealed  the  will  of  God.  Whatever  seemed  to  him  to 
serve  either  of  these  two  purposes  he  put  in,  but  he 
was  especially  desirous  to  make  plain  the  will  of  God. 
If  this  appeared  in  two  disagreeing  documents,  their 
disagreement  did  not  deter  him  from  including  them 
both.  He  was  not  engaged  in  writing  history,  as  we 
understand  it,  but  in  making  what  we  call  a  "source- 
book" of  history,  with  special  reference  to  religion. 

Thus,  finding  two  accounts  of  the  Conquest  of  Ca- 
naan differing  the  one  from  the  other,  but  both  of 
them  excellently  illustrative  of  the  providence  of  God, 
he  brought  them  both  into  his  book. 

One  account  is  contained  in  the  first  half  of  Joshua. 
It  describes  an  invasion  of  Palestine  by  an  army  com- 
posed of  the  united  tribes  of  Israel,  under  one  com- 


THE  CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN         17^ 

mander.  Together  the  tribes  crossed  the  Jordan,  to- 
gether they  took  Jericho  and  Ai,  and  together  they  met 
the  kings  of  the  country  in  two  great  battles. 

First,  they  fought  with  the  kings  of  the  south  led 
by  Adoni-zedek,  king  of  Jerusalem.  The  battle  took 
place  at  the  pass  of  Beth-horon,  and  the  invaders  were 
decisively  successful.  They  pursued  after  their  retreat- 
ing enemies,  and  smote  the  hindmost  of  them,  and 
suffered  them  not  to  enter  into  their  cities,  for  the 
Lord  God  had  delivered  them  into  their  hands,  {^los. 
10:19.)  Adoni-zedek,  with  his  four  allies,  they  found 
hid  in  a  cave,  and  brought  them  out  and  hanged  them. 
So  they  swept  on  victoriously  over  *'all  the  country 
of  the  hills,  and  of  the  south,  and  of  the  vale,  and  of 
the  springs,"  taking  city  after  city.  The  formula  of 
their  operations  is  repeated  again  and  again:  *They 
took  (the  city)  and  smote  it  with  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  and  all  the  souls  that  were  therein  he  utterly 
destroyed."  Joshua  "left  none  remaining,  but  utterly 
destroyed  all  that  breathed,  as  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 
commanded." 

Then  they  fought  with  the  kings  of  the  north  led 
by  Jabin  king  of  Hazor.  The  battle  took  place  by  the 
waters  of  Merom  where  the  northern  kings  had  as- 
sembled their  hosts,  *'even  as  the  sand  that  is  upon  the 
seashore  in  multitude,  with  horses  and  chariots  very 
many."  "And  Joshua  came,  and  all  the  people  of  war 
with  him,  against  them  by  the  waters  of  Merom  sud- 
denly, and  they  fell  upon  them,  and  the  Lord  delivered 
them  into  the  hand  of  Israel,  and  they  smote  them 
until  they  left  them  none  remaining."   And  again  the 


78  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

conquerors  swept  forward  over  the  cities  of  the  north. 
"Every  man  they  smote  with  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
until  they  had  destroyed  them,  neither  left  they  any 
to  breathe."     {Jos.  11:14.) 

After  this  complete  destruction,  the  country  being 
cleared  of  its  original  inhabitants  by  these  two  fierce 
campaigns,  Joshua  divided  it  among  the  tribes. 
"Joshua  took  the  whole  land,  according  to  all  that  the 
Lord  said  unto  Moses;  and  Joshua  gave  it  for  an 
inheritance  unto  Israel  according  to  their  divisions  by 
their  tribes.   And  the  land  rested  from  war.** 

But  the  first  chapter  of  Judges  contains  another  and 
quite  different  account.  The  sentence  with  which  it 
begins — "Now  after  the  death  of  Joshua  it  came  to 
pass'* — seems  to  place  the  chapter  after  the  initial  con- 
quest, but  the  fact  that  Joshua  does  not  actually  die 
until  the  middle  of  the  second  chapter  (2:8)  seems  to 
indicate  that  this  sentence  is  an  editorial  addition.  At 
the  close  of  the  book  of  Joshua  it  says : — "So  Joshua 
let  the  people  depart,  every  man  unto  his  inheritance. 
And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things  that  Joshua  the 
son  of  Nun,  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  died,  being  an 
hundred  and  ten  years  old ;  and  they  buried  him  in  the 
border  of  his  inheritance  in  Timnath-serah  which  is  in 
the  mount  of  Ephraim,  on  the  north  side  of  the  hill  of 
Gaash.'*  In  the  middle  of  the  second  chapter  of  the 
book  of  Judges  it  says : — "And  when  Joshua  had  let 
the  people  go,  the  children  of  Israel  went  every  man 
unto  his  inheritance  to  possess  the  land.  And  Joshua 
the  son  of  Nun,  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  died,  being 
an  hundred  and  ten  years  old ;  and  they  buried  him  in 


THE   CONQUEST   OE    CANAAN         79 

the  border  of  his  inheritance  in  Timnath-serah,  in 
the  mount  of  Ephraim,  on  the  north  side  of  the  hill 
Gaash."  The  repetition  seems  to  join  the  two  books 
at  this  point.  That  which  comes  between,  in  the  first 
chapter  of  Jtcdgcs  and  a  part  of  the  second,  is  a  frag- 
ment of  ancient  history  which  the  historian,  according 
to  his  method,  inserted  here  because  he  found  it  among 
his  sources. 

On  examination,  this  account  is  seen  to  be  not  sub- 
sequent to  the  description  of  the  conquest  in  Joshua 
but  parallel  with  it.  It  is  another,  and  different,  record 
of  the  invasion  of  Palestine.  In  this  account  the  tribes 
went  up  not  as  a  united  army  but  individually  or  in 
groups. 

The  kings  of  the  south  were  attacked  by  Judah  and 
Simeon,  and  perhaps  by  Benjamin.  Judah  took  the 
king  of  Jerusalem,  whose  name  in  the  narrative  is 
Adoni-bezek,  and  instead  of  hanging  him  cut  off  his 
thumbs  and  great  toes.  They  captured  Jerusalem,  and 
smote  the  people  with  the  edge  of  the  sword  (Jud. 
1:8).  We  are  presently  informed,  however  (Jiid. 
1 :21),  that  the  invaders,  now  specified  as  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  did  not  drive  out  the  inhabitants  of  that 
city.  Indeed,  we  know  from  the  subsequent  history 
that  the  Hebrews  did  not  become  masters  of  Jerusalem 
until  that  stronghold  was  taken  by  Joab  for  King 
David  (//  Sam.  5:6,  7).  The  conquest  of  the  south, 
according  to  this  narrative  was  far  from  complete. 
"Judah  went  down  to  fight  against  the  Canaanites  that 
dwelt  in  the  mountain,  and  in  the  south,  and  in  the 
valley," — ^the  country  of  "the  hills,  and  of  the  south, 


80         HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

and  of  the  vale  and  of  the  springs"  which  the  united 
tribes,  in  the  book  of  Joshua,  had  so  completely  sub- 
jugated,— "and  the  Lord  was  with  Judah,  and  he  drove 
out  the  inhabitants  of  the  mountain;  but  could  not 
drive  out  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley,  because  they 
had  chariots  of  iron."    (Jud.  1 :19.) 

The  same  imperfect  success  attended  the  fortunes 
of  the  tribes  who  invaded  the  north.  "Neither  did 
Manasseh  drive  out  the  inhabitants  of  Beth-shean  and 
her  towns,"  nor  Taanach  and  her  towns,  nor  Megiddo 
and  her  towns,  "but  the  Canaanite  would  dwell  in  that 
land."  The  book  of  Judges  presently  informs  us  that 
the  Canaanites  dwelt  so  persistently  and  successfully 
in  that  land,  and  made  such  effective  use  of  the  nine 
hundred  chariots  of  iron  which  they  had  that  they  dis- 
armed the  Israelites,  leaving  them  neither  shield  nor 
spear  (Jud.  5 :8)  and  mightily  oppressed  them. 
"Neither  did  Ephraim  drive  out  the  Canaanites  that 
dwelt  in  Gezer."  "Neither  did  Zebulon  drive  out  the 
inhabitants  of  Kitron."  And  so  on,  tribe  after  tribe, 
some  of  them  conquered  rather  than  conquering,  some 
making  alliances  with  the  people  of  the  land,  and  all 
of  them  represented  as  living  in  a  populated  country. 
The  situation  is  quite  different  from  that  which  is  in- 
dicated by  the  victorious  progress  of  Joshua's  army. 

These  two  varying  accounts  leave  us  in  doubt  as  to 
the  conditions  under  which  the  conquest  of  Canaan 
was  accomplished.  At  the  same  time  they  remind  us 
that  to  the  historian  the  resolution  of  such  doubts  was 
of  no  great  concern.  That  was  not  his  business.  The 
victorious  campaign  of  Joshua  illustrated  the  blessings 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    CANAAN         81 

of  success  which  come  to  those  who  obey  the  will  of 
God.  The  defeats  which  attended  the  efforts  of  the 
tribes  to  establish  themselves  in  their  inheritance  illus- 
trated the  failure  by  which  those  who  make  compro- 
mises are  punished.  True,  there  were  chariots  of  iron 
on  the  other  side,  but  the  moral  of  the  situation  in 
general  was  declared  by  an  angel  of  the  Lord,  who 
said : — 

"I  made  you  to  go  up  out  of  Egypt,  and  have  brought 
you  unto  the  land  which  I  sware  unto  your  fathers ;  and 
I  said,  I  will  never  break  my  covenant  with  you.  And 
ye  shall  make  no  league  with  the  inhabitants  of  this  land ; 
ye  shall  throw  down  their  altars :  but  ye  have  not  obeyed 
my  voice :  why  have  ye  done  this  ?  Wherefore  I  also 
said,  I  will  not  drive  them  out  from  before  you ;  but  they 
shall  be  as  thorns  in  your  sides,  and  their  gods  shall  be  a 
snare  unto  you."  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  spake  these  words  unto  all  the  children  of 
Israel,  that  the  people  lifted  up  their  voice  and  wept. 

The  purpose  of  the  historian  was  to  enforce  this 
moral.  He  was  not  interested  in  deciding  whether  the 
conqueror  of  Jabin  king  of  Hazor  was  Joshua  (Jos. 
11)  or  Barak  (Jtid.  4).  No  details  of  geography  or 
of  chronology  were  to  be  compared  in  value  for  him 
with  the  great  word,  "So  let  all  thine  enemies  perish, 
O  Lord ;  but  let  them  that  love  him  be  as  the  sun  when 
he  goeth  forth  in  his  might"  (Jud.  5  :31).  He  did  not 
care  whether  the  tribes  took  the  Promised  Land  to- 
gether or  separately.  One  tradition  was  as  good  as 
the  other.  Whatever  their  initial  successes,  they  had 
to  fight  for  their  possessions,  and  the  country  was  the 
more  precious  to  them  for  the  hardships  which  they 


82         HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

had  endured  to  gain  it.  And  all  their  defeats  and  all 
their  victories  were  proportioned  to  their  loyalty  to 
God. 

Most  of  the  stories  of  the  book  of  Judges  teach  this 
lesson.  The  people,  now  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
now  in  that,  fall  into  misfortune.  They  cry  for  help  to 
God  whom  they  had  forgotten.  He  raises  from  among 
them  a  hero  who  in  God's  name  delivers  them.  These 
heroes  bear  no  resemblance  to  the  officers  whom  we 
call  judges;  they  have  no  connection  with  courts  of 
law.  The  name  is  a  misleading  one.  The  "judges"  of 
this  book  were  like  the  men  whom  the  Romans  called 
dictators,  who  were  called  from  private  life  to  lead  the 
army  in  a  desperate  crisis.  Such  a  man  was  Ehud, 
who  in  defense  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  killed  the 
king  of  Moab;  and  Barak,  who  being  summoned  by 
Deborah,  assembled  the  northern  tribes  to  the  battle  of 
Mount  Zabor ;  and  Gideon  who  fought  the  Midianites ; 
and  Jephthah  who  led  the  trans-Jordanic  tribes  against 
the  Ammonites ;  and  Samson,  who  plagued  the  Philis- 
times.  The  book  of  Judges  is  filled  with  the  tales  of 
their  adventures.  By  these  men  the  conquest  of  Ca- 
naan was  completed. 


VII 


THE   TWO    HISTORIES 


THE  two  books  of  Samuel  are  one  book,  divided 
in  the  middle  for  convenience.  In  ancient  times 
books  were  written  on  long  strips  of  papyrus.  These 
were  rolled  on  sticks.  When  the  strip  could  not  all  be 
rolled  around  one  stick  without  making  it  too  bulky 
for  easy  handling  and  reading,  it  was  cut  and  the  re- 
mainder was  made  into  another  roll.  The  word  "vol- 
ume," which  means  a  roll,  is  derived  from  this  ar- 
rangement. Thus  Samuel  was  made  into  two  rolls,  or 
volumes.  The  same  was  done  with  the  two  books  of 
Kings,  where  the  division  comes  in  the  midst  of  the 
account  of  the  reign  of  Ahaziah.  In  the  Septnagint 
these  four  books, — I  and  //  Samuel  and  /  and  // 
Kings, — appear  as  the  four  volumes  in  one  history. 

The  two  books  of  Chronicles  were  divided,  like 
Samuel  and  Kings,  for  convenience  in  reading.  Ezra 
and  Nehemiuh,  which  follow  them,  appear  in  the  He- 
brew Bible  as  one  book.  The  repetition  of  the  last  two 
verses  of  //  Chronicles  to  make  the  first  two  verses  of 
Ezra  joins  these  books  together.  The  four  books, — 
/  and  //  Chronicles,  Ezra  and  Nehemiah, — are  four 
volumes  of  one  history. 

83 


84         HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

After  nine  chapters  of  genealogical  tables,  and  a 
tenth  which  records  the  defeat  and  death  of  Saul,  the 
second  history  begins  with  the  taking  of  Jerusalem  by 
David.  He  made  the  place  his  capital,  and  "built  the 
city  round  about."  This  event  appears  in  the  fifth 
chapter  of  //  Samuel.  Starting  thus  together  at  the 
building  of  Jerusalem,  the  two  histories  proceed  side 
by  side  till  the  first  history  ends  with  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  in 
586;  the  second  history  includes  the  restoration  of 
Jerusalem  under  Artaxerxes,  king  of  Persia,  in  445. 

These  cardinal  dates  do  not  definitely  determine 
when  these  two  histories  were  written.  In  the  days 
when  books  were  multiplied  by  the  process  of  writing 
them  out  with  pen  and  ink,  the  copyists  sometimes 
served  as  editors  also,  and  made  notes  in  the  margin 
or  in  the  text  according  to  their  later  knowledge.  It  is 
the  opinion  of  good  scholars  that  the  chapters  which 
describe  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  were  added  to  the  first 
history,  which  would  thus  be  dated  about  600.  It  is 
also  the  opinion  of  good  scholars  that  the  second  his- 
tory, which  includes  the  name  of  Jaddua,  who  was 
high  priest  when  Alexander  invaded  Palestine  and 
took  Jerusalem  in  Z2>2,  and  which  often  speaks  of 
Cyrus,  Darius  and  Artaxerxes  as  kings  "of  Persia," 
as  if  the  Persian  rule  had  long  since  given  place  to  that 
of  the  Greeks,  is  thereby  dated  about  300,  or  later. 
The  reckoning  is  important  in  that  It  separates  the 
time  of  writing  of  the  second  history  from  the  time 
of  writing  of  the  first  by  a  space  of  three  centuries. 


THE   TWO    HISTORIES  85 


The  two  histories  are  singulariy  alike.  In  chapter 
after  chapter,  the  second  repeats  the  first,  word  for 
word.  Thus  at  the  place  where  the  parallel  begins,  the 
first  history  reads : — - 


Then  came  all  the  tribes  of  Israel  to  David  unto  He- 
bron, and  spake,  saying : — "Behold,  we  are  thy  bone  and 
thy  flesh.  Also  in  time  past,  when  Saul  was  king  over 
us,  thou  wast  he  that  leddest  out  and  broughtest  in  Israel : 
and  the  Lord  said  to  thee,  Thou  shalt  feed  my  people 
Israel,  and  thou  shalt  be  a  captain  over  Israel."  So  all  the 
elders  of  Israel  came  to  the  king  to  Hebron;  and  king 
David  made  a  league  with  them  in  Hebron  before  the 
Lord :  and  they  anointed  David  king  over  Israel. 

David  was  thirty  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign, 
and  he  reigned  forty  years.  In  Hebron  he  reigned  over 
Judah  seven  years  and  six  months :  and  in  Jerusalem  he 
reigned  thirty  and  three  years  over  all  Israel  and  Judah. 
And  the  king  and  his  men  went  to  Jerusalem  unto  the 
Jebusites,  the  inhabitants  of  the  land:  which  spake  unto 
David,  saying: — "Except  thou  take  away  the  blind  and 
the  lame,  thou  shalt  not  come  in  hither ;"  thinking,  David 
cannot  come  in  hither.  Nevertheless  David  took  the 
strong  hold  of  Zion :  the  same  is  the  city  of  David.  And 
David  said  on  that  day : — "Whosoever  smiteth  the  Jebu- 
sites, let  him  get  up  to  the  watercourse,  and  as  for  the 

lame  and  the  blind  that  are  hated  of  David's  soul " 

Wherefore  they  said : — "The  blind  and  the  lame  shall  not 
come  into  the  house."  So  David  dwelt  in  the  fort,  and 
called  it  the  city  of  David.  And  David  built  round  about 
from  Millo  and  inward.  And  David  went  on,  and  grew 
great,  and  the  Lord  God  of  hosts  was  with  him.  (//  Sam. 
5:3-10.) 


^6  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

The  second  history  reads : — 

Then  all  Israel  gathered  themselves  to  David  unto 
Hebron,  saying: — "Behold,  we  are  thy  bone  and  thy 
flesh.  And  moreover  in  time  past,  even  when  Saul  was 
king,  thou  wast  he  that  leddest  out  and  broughtest  in 
Israel :  and  the  Lord  thy  God  said  unto  thee,  Thou  shalt 
feed  my  people  Israel,  and  thou  shalt  be  ruler  over  my 
people  Israel."  Therefore  came  all  the  elders  of  Israel 
to  the  king  to  Hebron ;  and  David  made  a  covenant  with 
them  in  Hebron  before  the  Lord;  and  they  anointed 
David  king  over  Israel,  according  to  the  word  of  the 
Lord  by  Samuel. 

And  David  and  all  Israel  went  to  Jerusalem,  which  is 
Jebus;  where  the  Jebusites  were,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land.  And  the  inhabitants  of  Jebus  said  to  David : — 
'Thou  shalt  not  come  hither."  Nevertheless  David  took 
the  castle  of  Zion,  which  is  the  city  of  David.  And 
David  said  : — "Whosoever  smiteth  the  Jebusites  first  shall 
be  chief  and  captain."  So  Joab  the  son  of  Zeruiah 
went  first  up,  and  was  chief.  And  David  dwelt  in  the 
castle;  therefore  they  called  it  the  city  of  David.  And 
he  built  the  city  round  about,  even  from  Millo  round 
about :  and  Joab  repaired  the  rest  of  the  city.  So  David 
waxed  greater  and  greater:  for  the  Lord  of  hosts  was 
with  him.   (/  Chron.  11 :3-9.) 

Here  the  second  history  inserts  a  list  of  David's  mighty 
men,  with  an  account  of  their  chief  exploits,  but  this 
is  taken  from  the  first  history  later  on,  where  it  oc- 
curs in  an  appendix  to  //  Samuel  (23  :8f).  A  follow- 
ing chapter  adds  new  names  and  adventures  of  David's 
heroes,  and  gives  the  numbers  of  the  fighting  men  who 
assembled  to  make  David  king, — more  than  three  hun- 
dred thousand.  The  first  history  (//  Sam.  6:1)  had 
known  of  only  thirty  thousand.  The  second  history 
then  follows  the  first  again,  giving  an  account  of  the 


THE   TWO    HISTORIES  87 

tragedy  of  Uzza,  who  put  out  his  hand  to  keep  the  ark 
from  falling,  recounting  David's  dealings  with  Hiram, 
king  of  Tyre,  giving  the  names  of  David's  children, 
and  describing  a  decisive  victory  gained  by  David  over 
the  Philistines, — the  words  the  same,  but  the  order  a 
little  changed.  Then  says  the  first  history : — 

And  it  was  told  king  David,  saying : — "The  Lord  hath 
blessed  the  house  of  Obed-edom,  and  all  that  pertaineth 
unto  him,  because  of  the  ark  of  God."  So  David  went 
and  brought  up  the  ark  of  God  from  the  house  of  Obed- 
edom  into  the  city  of  David  with  gladness.  And  it  was 
so,  that  when  they  that  bare  the  ark  of  the  Lord  had  gone 
six  paces,  he  sacrificed  an  ox  and  a  fatling.  And  David 
danced  before  the  Lord  with  all  his  might;  and  David 
was  girded  with  a  linen  ephod.  So  David  and  all  the 
house  of  Israel  brought  up  the  ark  of  the  Lord  with 
shouting,  and  with  the  sound  of  the  trumpet. 

But  this  the  second  history  enlarges,  with  names  of 
priests  and  singers : — 

And  David  made  him  houses  in  the  city  of  David,  and 
prepared  a  place  for  the  ark  of  God,  and  pitched  for  it 
a  tent.  Then  David  said : — "None  ought  to  carry  the  ark 
of  God  but  the  Levites :  for  them  hath  the  Lord  chosen  to 
carry  the  ark  of  God,  and  to  minister  unto  him  for  ever." 
And  David  gathered  all  Israel  together  to  Jerusalem,  to 
bring  up  the  ark  of  the  Lord  unto  its  place,  which  he  had 
prepared  for  it.  And  David  assembled  the  children  of 
Aaron,  and  the  Levites :  of  the  sons  of  Kohath ;  Uriel  the 
chief,  and  his  brethren  an  hundred  and  twenty:  of  the 
sons  of  Merari;  Asaiah  the  chief,  and  his  brethren  two 
hundred  and  twenty:  of  the  sons  of  Gershom;  Joel  the 
chief,  and  his  brethren  an  hundred  and  thirty:  of  the 
sons  of  Elizaphan ;  Shemaiah  the  chief,  and  his  brethren 
two  hundred :  of  the  sons  of  Hebron ;  Eliel  the  chief,  and 
his  brethren  fourscore :  of  the  sons  of  Uzziel ;  Ammina- 


88  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE' 

dab  the  chief,  and  his  brethren  an  hundred  and  twelve. 
And  David  called  for  Zadok  and  Abiathar  the  priests, 
and  for  the  Levites,  for  Uriel,  Asaiah,  and  Joel,  She- 
maiah,  and  Eliel,  and  Amminadab,  and  said  unto  them : — 
"Ye  are  the  chief  of  the  fathers  of  the  Levites :  sanctify 
yourselves,  both  ye  and  your  brethren,  that  ye  may  bring 
up  the  ark  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  unto  the  place  that 
I  have  prepared  for  it.  For  because  ye  did  it  not  at  the 
first,  the  Lord  our  God  made  a  breach  upon  us,  for  that 
we  sought  him  not  after  the  due  order." 

So  the  priests  and  the  Levites  sanctified  themselves  to 
bring  up  the  ark  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel.  And  the  chil« 
dren  of  the  Levites  bare  the  ark  of  God  upon  their  shoul- 
ders with  the  staves  thereon,  as  Moses  commanded  ac- 
cording to  the  word  of  the  Lord.  And  David  spake  to 
the  chief  of  the  Levites  to  appoint  their  brethren  to  be  the 
singers  with  instruments  of  music,  psalteries  and  harps 
and  cymbals,  sounding,  by  lifting  up  the  voice  with  joy. 
So  the  Levites  appointed  Heman  the  son  of  Joel ;  and  of 
his  brethren,  Asaph  the  son  of  Berechiah;  and  of  the 
sons  of  Merari  their  brethren,  Ethan  the  son  of  Kusha- 
iah;  and  with  them  their  brethren  of  the  second  degree, 
Zechariah,  Ben,  and  Jaaziel,  and  Shemiramoth,  and  Je- 
hiel,  and  Unni,  Eliab,  and  Benaiah,  and  Maaseiah,  and 
Mattithiah,  and  Elipheleh,  and  Mikneiah,  and  Obed- 
edom,  and  Jeiel,  the  porters.  So  the  singers,  Heman, 
Asaph,  and  Ethan,  were  appointed  to  sound  with  cymbals 
of  brass;  and  Zechariah,  and  Aziel,  and  Shemiramoth, 
and  Jehiel,  and  Unni,  and  Eliab,  and  Maaseiah,  and 
Benaiah,  with  psalteries  set  to  "Alamoth";  and  Matti- 
thiah, and  Elipheleh,  and  Mikneiah,  and  Obed-edom,  and 
Jeiel,  and  Azaziah,  with  harps  set  to  the  "Sheminith"  to 
lead.  And  Chenaniah,  chief  of  the  Levites,  was  for  song : 
he  instructed  about  the  song,  because  he  was  skilful.  And 
Berechiah  and  Elkanah  were  doorkeepers  for  the  ark. 
And  Shebaniah,  and  Jehoshaphat,  and  Nethaneel,  and 
Amasai,  and  Zechariah,  and  Benaiah,  and  Eliezer,  the 
priests,  did  blow  with  the  trumpets  before  the  ark  of 
God:  and  Obed-edom  and  Jehiah  were  doorkeepers  for 
the  ark. 


THE   TWO    HISTORIES  89 

So  David,  and  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  the  captains 
over  thousands,  went  to  bring  up  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
of  the  Lord  out  of  the  house  of  Obed-edom  with  joy. 
And  it  came  to  pass,  when  God  helped  the  Levites  that 
bare  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord,  that  they  of- 
fered seven  bullocks  and  seven  rams.  And  David  was 
clothed  with  a  robe  of  fine  linen,  and  all  the  Levites  that 
bare  the  ark,  and  the  singers,  and  Chenaniah  the  master 
of  the  song  with  the  singers :  David  also  had  upon  him  an 
ephod  of  linen.  Thus  all  Israel  brought  up  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  of  the  Lord  with  shouting,  and  with  sound  of 
the  cornet,  and  with  trumpets,  and  with  cymbals,  making 
a  noise  with  psalteries  and  harps. 

Another  addition  v^hich  the  second  history  makes 
to  the  narrative  of  the  first  also  consists  in  great  part 
of  the  names  of  priests  and  singers,  with  an  account 
of  the  glories  of  the  temple  in  which  they  were  ap- 
pointed to  serve.  This  addition  occupies  eight  chap- 
ters of  /  Chronkles  (22-29),  and  has  no  parallel  in 
Kings.  It  contains  the  statement  that  David  prepared 
for  the  erection  of  the  temple  by  setting  apart  for  that 
purpose  a  hundred  thousand  talents  of  gold,  and  a 
thousand  thousand  talents  of  silver  (/  Chron.  22:14). 
The  first  history  had  estimated  the  annual  revenue 
even  of  Solomon  at  less  than  a  thousand  talents  of 
gold  (/  Kings  10:14,  15).  Even  so,  according  to  the 
humbler  standards  of  that  earlier  time,  he  "exceeded 
all  the  kings  of  the  earth  for  riches." 

These  additions  represent  the  author  of  the  second 
history  as  a  man  for  whom  numbers  were  symbols 
rather  than  statistics.  He  dealt  with  figures  not  as  a 
treasurer,  whose  business  it  is  to  make  accurate  ac- 
counts, but  as  a  writer  who  desired  to  say,  in  the  midst 


90         HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

of  the  subjection  and  poverty  of  his  people,  that  there 
had  been  a  time  when  they  were  as  great  and  as  rich 
as  any  nation  of  the  earth.  The  additions  suggest  also 
that  the  chronicler,  if  not  himself  a  priest  or  a  singer 
in  the  temple  choir,  was  at  least  much  interested  in 
ecclesiastical  music,  and  in  the  ceremonies  of  religion. 


II 


A  comparison  of  the  second  history  with  the  first 
reveals  not  only  additions  but  omissions. 

1.  Everything  is  omitted  which  would  bring  dis- 
credit upon  the  good  name  of  King  David.  The  chron- 
icler is  diligently  copying  the  earlier  history  (compare 
/  Chron.  19  with  //  Sam.  10).  "And  it  came  to  pass,'* 
he  says,  following  word  for  word,  "that  after  that 
year  was  expired,  at  the  time  that  kings  go  forth  to 
battle,  Joab  led  forth  the  power  of  the  army,  and 
wasted  the  country  of  the  children  of  Ammon,  and 
came  and  besieged  Rabbah.  But  David  tarried  at  Jeru- 
salem." There  he  suddenly  stopped.  He  made  no 
copy  of  II  Samuel  11,  nor  of  the  greater  part  of  12, 
for  these  chapters  contain  the  disgraceful  story  of 
David's  adultery  with  Bathsheba,  and  of  his  murder 
of  Uriah,  her  husband.  He  began  copying  again  at 
//  Samuel  12:26.  "And  Joab  smote  Rabbah  and  de- 
stroyed it.  And  David  took  the  crown  of  their  king 
from  off  his  head."  And  so  on.  A  similar  omission 
leaves  out  the  whole  story  of  the  rebellion  of  Absalom. 
One  may  read  the  Chronicles  without  discovering  that 
any  son  of  that  name  ever  belonged  to  the  family  of 


THE   TWO    HISTORIES  91 

David.  David  appears  in  this  history  as  a  king  without 
reproach,  and  without  defeat.  There  is  no  mention  of 
the  war  with  the  house  of  Saul  by  which  he  seized  the 
throne,  nor  of  the  conspiracy  of  his  son  Adonijah  to 
take  the  throne  away  from  him  in  his  old  age.  The 
chronicler's  picture  of  David  is  like  a  photograph  re- 
touched, with  all  the  lines  smoothed  out.  It  is  one  of 
the  few  exceptions  to  the  frankness  of  the  writers  of 
the  Bible  in  their  dealing  with  the  sins  of  the  saints. 

2.  Another  notable  omission  removes  from  the  sec- 
ond history  the  annals  of  the  Northern  Kingdom. 

Chronicles  follows  Kings  through  the  days  of  David 
and  Solomon.  The  two  histories  agree,  for  the  most 
part,  in  their  descriptions  of  that  era  of  prosperity  and 
splendor.  They  agree  in  praising  the  wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon. The  writer  of  the  second  history,  however, 
draws  his  copying  pencil  through  the  account  in  the 
first  history  of  Solomon's  folly.  He  omits  the  state- 
ment that  Solomon  had  a  multitude  of  foreign  and 
heathen  wives,  and  that  he  "went  after  Ashtoreth  the 
goddess  of  the  Zidonians,  and  after  Milcom  the  abomi- 
nation of  the  Ammonites,"  and  that  he  built  "an  high 
place  for  Chemosh  the  abomination  of  Moab  in  the 
hill  that  is  before  Jerusalem,"  and  to  these  strange 
gods,  before  their  idols,  burnt  incense  and  offered  sac- 
rifices. The  chronicler  magnifies  the  greatness  of 
Solomon  as  a  builder  not  only  of  the  temple  but  of 
many  cities,  but  adds  that  "of  the  children  of  Israel 
did  Solomon  make  no  servants  for  his  work ;  but  they 
were  men  of  war,  and  chief  of  his  captains,  and  cap- 
tains of  his  chariots  and  horsemen"  (//  Chron.  8:9). 


92  HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

The  statement  is  taken  from  Kings  (I  Kings  9:22), 
and  the  idea  in  both  histories  is  that  the  heavy  service 
of  forced  labor  was  put  upon  the  conquered  tribes 
whom  the  IsraeHtes  had  dispossessed.  It  appears,  how- 
ever, in  Kings  (I  Kings  5:13)  that  there  was  a  burden 
of  compulsory  service  on  the  children  of  Israel  also. 
"King  Solomon  raised  a  levy  out  of  all  Israel;  and  the 
levy  was  thirty  thousand  men.  And  he  sent  them  to 
Lebanon,  ten  thousand  a  month  by  courses;  a  month 
they  were  in  Lebanon  and  two  months  at  home :  and 
Adoniram  was  over  the  levy.  And  Solomon  had  three- 
score and  ten  thousand  that  bare  burdens,  and  four- 
score thousand  hewers  in  the  mountains."  It  may  be 
that  the  lot  of  the  Israelites  differed  from  that  of  the 
Canaanites  in  that  their  bondage  was  temporary  rather 
than  permanent.  It  was  so  severe,  however,  and  Solo- 
mon was  so  stern  a  taskmaster,  that  when  he  died  and 
Rehoboam  his  son  followed  him,  the  people  demanded 
better  treatment.  Lebanon  being  in  the  north,  it  was 
from  the  northern  tribes  that  the  hewers  in  the  moun- 
tains chiefly  came,  and  it  was  among  them  that  Ahijah 
appeared  as  the  prophet,  and  Jeroboam  as  the  leader, 
of  a  popular  protest  which  became  a  revolution.  Each 
of  the  histories  describes  the  conference  between  the 
young  king  and  the  people. 

And  Rehoboam  went  to  Shechem:  for  all  Israel  were 
come  to  Shechem  to  make  him  king.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  when  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat,  who  was  yet  in 
Egypt,  heard  of  it,  (for  he  was  fled  from  the  presence 
of  king  Solomon,  and  Jeroboam  dwelt  in  Egypt;)  that 
they  sent  and  called  him.  And  Jeroboam  and  all  the 
congregation  of  Israel  came,  and  spake  unto  Rehoboam, 


THE   TWO    HISTORIES  93 

saying : — "Thy  father  made  our  yoke  grievous :  now 
therefore  make  thou  the  grievous  service  of  thy  father, 
and  his  heavy  yoke  which  he  put  upon  us,  hghter,  and 
we  will  serve  thee."  And  he  said  unto  them: — "Depart 
yet  for  three  days,  then  come  again  to  me."  And  the 
people  departed. 

And  king  Rehoboam  consulted  with  the  old  men,  that 
stood  before  Solomon  his  father  while  he  yet  lived,  and 
said : — "How  do  ye  advise  that  I  may  answer  this  peo- 
ple?" And  they  spake  unto  him,  saying: — "If  thou  wilt 
be  a  servant  unto  this  people  this  day,  and  wilt  serve 
them,  and  answer  them,  and  speak  good  words  to  them, 
then  they  will  be  thy  servants  for  ever."  But  he  forsook 
the  counsel  of  the  old  men,  which  they  had  given  him, 
and  consulted  with  the  young  men  that  were  grown  up 
with  him,  and  which  stood  before  him:  and  he  said  unto 
them : — "What  counsel  give  ye  that  we  may  answer  this 
people,  who  have  spoken  to  me,  saying.  Make  the  yoke 
which  thy  father  did  put  upon  us  lighter  ?"  And  the  young 
men  that  were  grown  up  with  him  spake  unto  him,  say- 
ing : — "Thus  shalt  thou  speak  unto  this  people  that  spake 
unto  thee,  saying.  Thy  father  made  our  yoke  heavy,  but 
make  thou  it  lighter  unto  us ;  thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  them, 
My  little  finger  shall  be  thicker  than  my  father's  loins. 
And  now  whereas  my  father  did  lade  you  with  a  heavy 
yoke,  I  will  add  to  your  yoke :  my  father  hath  chastised 
you  with  whips,  but  I  will  chastise  you  with  scorpions." 
So  Jeroboam  and  all  the  people  came  to  Rehoboam 
the  third  day,  as  the  king  had  appointed,  saying: — 
"Come  to  me  again  the  third  day."  And  the  king  an- 
swered the  people  roughly,  and  forsook  the  old  men's 
counsel  that  they  gave  him;  and  spake  to  them  after  the 
counsel  of  the  young  men,  saying: — "My  father  made 
your  yoke  heavy,  and  I  will  add  to  your  yoke :  my  father 
also  chastised  you  with  whips,  but  I  will  chastise  you  with 
scorpions."  Wherefore  the  king  hearkened  not  unto  the 
people ;  for  the  cause  was  from  the  Lord,  that  he  might 
perform  his  saying,  which  the  Lord  spake  by  Ahijah  the 
Shilonite  unto  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat.  So  when  all 
Israel  saw  that  the  king  hearkened  not  unto  them,  the 


94         HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

people  answered  the  king,  saying: — "What  portion  have 
we  in  David?  neither  have  we  inheritance  in  the  son  of 
Jesse :  to  your  tents,  O  Israel :  now  see  to  thine  own 
house,  David."  So  Israel  departed  unto  their  tents.  But 
as  for  the  children  of  Israel  which  dwelt  in  the  cities  of 
Judah,  Rehoboam  reigned  over  them.  Then  king  Reho- 
boam  sent  Adoram,  who  was  over  the  tribute  [called 
Adoniram  in  the  account  of  the  forced  labor,  the  "trib- 
ute," of  the  Israelites]  ;  and  all  Israel  stoned  him  with 
stones,  that  he  died.  Therefore  king  Rehoboam  made 
speed  to  get  him  up  to  his  chariot,  to  flee  to  Jerusalem. 
So  Israel  rebelled  against  the  house  of  David  unto  this 
day.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  all  Israel  heard  that  Jero- 
boam was  come  again,  that  they  sent  and  called  him  unto 
the  congregation,  and  made  him  king  over  all  Israel: 
there  was  none  that  followed  the  house  of  David,  but  the 
tribe  of  Judah  only. 

The  writers  of  the  two  histories  belonged  alike  to 
the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  wrote  from  that  point  of  view, 
but  to  the  mind  of  the  chronicler  this  declaration  of 
independence  was  not  only  a  revolution  but  a  schism. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  a  righteous  rebellion  against 
a  heartless  and  intolerable  tyranny.  It  was  followed, 
however,  by  a  most  unfortunate  consequence,  political 
and  ecclesiastical.  Politically,  it  not  only  divided  the 
Hebrew  kingdom  but  it  set  the  two  divisions  at  vari- 
ance one  with  the  other.  The  northern  tribes  led  by 
Ephraim  and  the  southern  tribes  led  by  Judah  had 
never  agreed  well  together;  now  they  were  enemies. 
Thenceforward  Hebrews  fought  against  Hebrews. 
Ecclesiastically,  the  northern  tribes  set  up  shrines  for 
themselves  and  came  no  more  to  the  temple  at  Jerusa- 
lem. Even  to  the  writer  of  the  first  history,  living  after 
the  acceptance  of  the  Deuteronomic  doctrine  that  it 


THE   TWO    HISTORIES  95 

was  wrong  to  offer  sacrifice  in  any  other  place,  this 
was  a  separation  from  the  true  church.  To  the  writer 
of  the  second  history  it  was  an  act  so  hateful  to  God 
and  all  good  men  that  the  northern  kingdom  ought  to 
be  cast  out  of  remembrance.  So  far  as  he  was  able  he 
cast  it  out.  He  gave  it  no  place  in  his  records.  Even 
the  great  prophets,  Elijah  and  Elisha,  he  consigned  to 
silence  and  oblivion.  From  his  point  of  view  as  a  good 
churchman,  they  were  no  better  than  dissenting  min- 
isters. 

These  omissions  enable  us  to  distinguish  the  two 
histories  by  giving  them  different  names.  We  may 
entitle  the  first  A  History  of  the  Hebrews  from  the 
Establishment  of  the  Monarchy  to  the  Fall  of  Jeru- 
salem,  and  the  second,  A  History  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Jiidah  from  the  Accession  of  Saul  to  the  Rebuilding 
of  Jerusalem. 

Ill 

The  two  histories  agree  with  each  other  and  with 
the  preceding  historical  books  in  the  method  of  their 
composition.  They  were  made  by  copying  earlier  rec- 
ords and  piecing  them  together.  In  the  second  series 
we  see  the  historian  actually  at  work.  He  has  before 
him  our  books  of  Samuel  and  Kings;  he  has  also  the 
Book  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah,  to  which  he 
frequently  refers  (77  16:11;  25,  26;  27:7,  and  other 
places)  ;  he  has  "the  words"  of  various  prophets — 
Samuel,  Nathan,  Isaiah  and  others — (7  29:29,  77 
32 :32,  and  other  places) .  Judging  by  his  treatment  of 


96  HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Samuel  and  Kings,  he  uses  these  sources  with  a  good 
deal  of  freedom.  He  adds  and  subtracts,  as  we  have 
seen;  he  changes  the  order  of  events;  he  quotes  for  the 
most  part  the  exact  words  of  his  authority,  but  not 
always;  he  occasionally  adds  moralizing  explanations 
of  his  own.  Thus  the  gout  which  affected  good  King 
Asa  in  his  old  age  is  attributed  by  the  chronicler  to  an 
alliance  with  the  pagan  king  of  Syria;  and  the  leprosy 
by  which  King  Uzziah  was  smitten  was  the  result  of 
his  presumption  in  burning  incense  on  the  altar,  which 
was  permitted  only  to  the  priests.  Later,  he  puts  two 
books  together,  the  Memoirs  of  Nehemiah  and  the 
Memoirs  of  Ezra. 

The  compiler  of  the  first  series  of  histories  also  re- 
fers to  the  sources  from  which  he  gets  his  informa- 
tion. He  had  before  him  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  Solo- 
mon (I  Kings  11 :41),  the  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of 
the  Kings  of  Israel  (I  Kings  14:19,  and  many  other 
places)  ;  and  the  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings 
of  Judah  (I  Kings  14:29,  and  again  often).  These 
were  contemporary  records  kept  by  the  court  officials 
(7/  Sam.  8:16;  I  Kings  4:3;  II  Kings  18:18-37),  or 
comprehensive  histories  made  from  such  records. 

This  historical  method,  according  to  which  the  his- 
torian, instead  of  studying  the  sources  and  on  the 
basis  of  his  study  writing  a  history  in  his  own  words, 
gives  us  the  actual  sources  which  he  used  with  little 
change  or  even  comment,  takes  us  back  beyond  not 
only  the  second  series  but  the  first  into  the  very  times 
when  these  things  happened. 


THE   TWO    HISTORIES  97^ 

IV 

The  history  which  is  thus  recorded  falls  naturally 
into  three  eras. 

1.  The  first  era  begins  with  the  establishment  of  the 
monarchy,  in  the  century  of  Samuel  and  Saul,  of 
David  and  Solomon.  The  initial  approximate  date  is 
the  easily  remembered  year  1000. 

This  era  includes  the  division  of  the  Hebrew  empire 
into  the  northern  and  southern  kingdoms  of  Israel 
(Ephraim)  and  Judah,  and  the  fortunes  of  each  king- 
dom as  far  as  the  long  reign  of  Jeroboam  II  in  the 
north  and  of  Uzziah,  his  contemporary,  in  the  south. 
The  principal  literary  activity  of  this  time  was  that  of 
the  historians,  who  were  putting  into  writing  such 
parts  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  Numbers,  Joshua  and  Judges 
as  had  been  preserved  in  the  memory  of  the  people, 
and  were  also  recording  the  events  of  their  own  day. 

In  this  era,  after  the  division,  the  most  dramatic 
events  were  in  the  north. 

The  historian,  who  presently  dismisses  in  a  few 
words  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II,  a  king  whose  prosper- 
ity and  power  almost  equaled  the  glories  of  Solomon, 
deals  at  length  with  the  ministry  of  Elijah.  King 
Ahab  has  married  Jezebel,  daughter  of  the  king  of 
Sidon,  and  she  has  brought  with  her  not  only  a  mas- 
terful spirit  but  a  devotion  to  the  ancient  religion  of 
the  land,  the  worship  of  Baal.  This  religion  dominates 
the  court,  and  threatens  to  abolish  the  religion  of 
Jehovah.  The  true  believers  are  under  persecution. 
Suddenly  appears  Elijah,  and  confronts  the  king. 


98         HOW   TO   KNOW  THE   BIBLE 

It  came  to  pass,  when  Ahab  saw  Elijah,  that  Ahab  said 
unto  him: — "Are  thou  he  that  troubleth  Israel?"  And 
he  answered: — "I  have  not  troubled  Israel;  but  thou,  and 
thy  father's  house,  in  that  ye  have  forsaken  the  command- 
ments of  the  Lord,  and  thou  hast  followed  the  Baalim. 
Now  therefore  send,  and  gather  to  me  all  Israel  unto 
mount  Carmel,  and  the  prophets  of  Baal  four  hundred 
and  fifty,  and  the  prophets  of  the  Asherah  four  hundred, 
which  eat  at  Jezebel's  table."  So  Ahab  sent  unto  all  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  gathered  the  prophets  together 
unto  mount  Carmel.  And  Elijah  came  unto  all  the  peo- 
ple, and  said : — **How  long  halt  ye  between  two  opinions  ? 
if  the  Lord  be  God,  follow  him :  but  if  Baal,  then  follow 
him."  And  the  people  answered  him  not  a  word.  Then 
said  Elijah  unto  the  people: — ''I,  even  I  only,  remain  a 
prophet  of  the  Lord;  but  Baal's  prophets  are  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men.  Let  them  therefore  give  us  two  bul- 
locks; and  let  them  choose  one  bullock  for  themselves, 
and  cut  it  in  pieces,  and  lay  it  on  wood,  and  put  no  fire 
under:  and  I  will  dress  the  other  bullock,  and  lay  it  on 
wood,  and  put  no  fire  under :  and  call  ye  on  the  name  of 
your  gods,  and  I  will  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord :  and 
the  God  that  answereth  by  fire,  let  him  be  God."  And  all 
the  people  answered  and  said : — "It  is  well  spoken."  And 
Elijah  said  unto  the  prophets  of  Baal : — "Choose  you  one 
bullock  for  yourselves,  and  dress  it  first ;  for  ye  are  many ; 
and  call  on  the  name  of  your  gods,  but  put  no  fire  under." 
And  they  took  the  bullock  which  was  given  them,  and 
they  dressed  it,  and  called  on  the  name  of  Baal  from 
morning  even  until  noon,  saying: — "O  Baal,  hear  us." 
But  there  was  no  voice,  nor  any  that  answered.  And 
they  leaped  upon  the  altar  which  was  made.  And  it  came 
to  pass  at  noon,  that  Elijah  mocked  them,  and  said: — 
"Cry  aloud :  for  he  is  a  god ;  either  he  is  talking,  or  he  is 
pursuing,  or  he  is  in  a  journey,  or  peradventure  he  sleep- 
eth,  and  must  be  awaked."  And  they  cried  aloud,  and 
cut  themselves  after  their  manner  with  knives  and  lan- 
cets, till  the  blood  gushed  out  upon  them. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  midday  was  past,  and  they 
prophesied  until  the  time  of  the  offering  of  the  evening 


THE   TWO    HISTORIES  99 

sacrifice,  that  there  was  neither  voice,  nor  any  to  answer, 
nor  any  that  regarded.  And  Elijah  said  unto  all  the  peo- 
ple:— "Come  near  unto  me."  And  all  the  people  came 
near  unto  him.  And  he  repaired  the  altar  of  the  Lord 
that  was  broken  down.  And  Elijah  took  twelve  stones, 
according  to  the  number  of  the  tribes  of  the  sons  of 
Jacob,  unto  whom  the  word  of  the  Lord  came,  saying, 
Israel  shall  be  thy  name :  and  with  the  stones  he  built  an 
altar  in  the  name  of  the  Lord:  and  he  made  a  trench 
about  the  altar,  as  great  as  would  contain  two  measures 
of  seed.  And  he  put  the  wood  in  order,  and  cut  the  bul- 
lock in  pieces,  and  laid  it  on  the  wood,  and  said : — "Fill 
four  barrels  with  water,  and  pour  it  on  the  burnt  sacrifice, 
and  on  the  wood."  And  he  said: — "Do  it  the  second 
time."  And  they  did  it  the  second  time.  And  he  said : — 
"Do  it  the  third  time."  And  they  did  it  the  third  time. 
And  the  water  ran  round  about  the  altar ;  and  he  filled  the 
trench  also  with  water.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  time 
of  the  offering  of  the  evening  sacrifice,  that  Elijah  the 
prophet  came  near,  and  said : — "Lord  God  of  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  of  Israel,  let  it  be  known  this  day  that  thou 
art  God  in  Israel,  and  that  I  am  thy  servant,  and  that 
I  have  done  all  these  things  at  thy  word.  Hear  me,  O 
Lord,  hear  me,  that  this  people  may  know  that  thou  art 
the  Lord  God,  and  that  thou  hast  turned  their  heart  back 
again."  Then  the  fire  of  the  Lord  fell,  and  consumed  the 
burnt  sacrifice,  and  the  wood,  and  the  stones,  and  the 
dust,  and  licked  up  the  water  that  was  in  the  trench.  And 
when  all  the  people  saw  it,  they  fell  on  their  faces :  and 
they  said: — "The  Lord,  he  is  the  God;  the  Lord  he  is 
the  God."  And  Elijah  said  unto  them: — "Take  the 
prophets  of  Baal ;  let  not  one  of  them  escape."  And  they 
took  them :  and  Elijah  brought  them  down  to  the  brook 
Kishon,  and  slew  them  there. 

The  incident  is  important  from  its  connection  with 
the  long  strife  between  the  two  religions.  The  danger 
of  a  native  uprising  in  arms  had  ceased,  but  there  con- 
tinued a  possibility  that  the  worship  of  Baal  might 


100        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

win  the  Israelites  from  the  worship  of  Jehovah.  The 
glowing  colors  in  which  the  historian  depicts  the  super- 
natural elements  in  the  scene  indicate  his  sense  of  its 
spiritual  importance. 

When  the  prophet  again  confronts  the  king  the  con- 
test is  still  between  the  two  religions,  but  the  point  at 
issue  is  a  matter  of  social  morality  in  which  the  dif- 
ference between  Baal  and  Jehovah  appears  in  a  form 
which  we  can  understand.  It  was  important  that  the 
Baal  religion  should  be  put  down  because  it  encour- 
aged the  despotism  of  Jezebel.  Elijah,  as  the  prophet 
of  Jehovah,  stood  for  the  rights  of  the  individual 
against  the  arrogance  and  usurpation  of  the  court. 

Naboth  the  Jezreelite  had  a  vineyard,  which  was  in 
Jezreel,  hard  by  the  palace  of  Ahab  king  of  Samaria. 
And  Ahab  spake  unto  Naboth,  saying: — "Give  me  thy 
vineyard,  that  I  may  have  it  for  a  garden  of  herbs,  be- 
cause it  is  near  unto  my  house :  and  I  will  give  thee  for  it 
a  better  vineyard  than  it ;  or,  if  it  seem  good  to  thee,  I 
will  give  thee  the  worth  of  it  in  money."  And  Naboth 
said  to  Ahab: — "The  Lord  forbid  it  me,  that  I  should 
give  the  inheritance  of  my  fathers  unto  thee."  And  Ahab 
came  into  his  house  heavy  and  displeased  because  of  the 
word  which  Naboth  the  Jezreelite  had  spoken  to  him: 
for  he  had  said,  I  will  not  give  thee  the  inheritance  of  my 
fathers.  And  he  laid  him  down  upon  his  bed,  and  turned 
away  his  face,  and  would  eat  no  bread.  But  Jezebel  his 
wife  came  to  him,  and  said  unto  him : — "Why  is  thy  spirit 
so  sad,  that  thou  eatest  no  bread?"  And  he  said  unto 
her: — "Because  I  spake  unto  Naboth  the  Jezreelite,  and 
said  unto  him,  Give  me  thy  vineyard  for  money ;  or  else, 
if  it  please  thee,  I  will  give  thee  another  vineyard  for  it : 
and  he  answered,  I  will  not  give  thee  my  vineyard."  And 
Jezebel  his  wife  said  unto  him : — "Dost  thou  now  govern 
the  kingdom  of  Israel  ?  arise,  and  eat  bread,  and  let  thine 


JHE   TWO    HISTORIES  101 

heart  be  merry :  I  will  give  thee  the  vineyard  of  Naboth 
the  Jezreelite." 

So  she  wrote  letters  in  Ahab's  name,  and  sealed  them 
with  his  seal,  and  sent  the  letters  unto  the  elders  and  to 
the  nobles  that  were  in  his  city,  dwelling  with  Naboth. 
And  she  wrote  in  the  letters,  saying: — "Proclaim  a  fast, 
and  set  Naboth  on  high  among  the  people :  and  set  two 
men,  sons  of  Belial,  before  him,  to  bear  witness  against 
him,  saying.  Thou  didst  blaspheme  God  and  the  king. 
And  then  carry  him  out,  and  stone  him,  that  he  may  die." 
And  the  men  of  his  city,  even  the  elders  and  the  nobles 
who  were  the  inhabitants  in  his  city,  did  as  Jezebel  had 
sent  unto  them,  and  as  it  was  written  in  the  letters  which 
she  had  sent  unto  them.  They  proclaimed  a  fast,  and  set 
Naboth  on  high  among  the  people.  And  there  came  in 
two  men,  children  of  Belial,  and  sat  before  him :  and  the 
men  of  Belial  witnessed  against  him,  even  against  Na- 
both, in  the  presence  of  the  people,  saying : — "Naboth  did 
blaspheme  God  and  the  king.'*  Then  they  carried  him 
forth  out  of  the  city,  and  stoned  him  with  stones,  that  he 
died.  Then  they  sent  to  Jezebel,  saying: — "Naboth  is 
stoned,  and  is  dead."  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jezebel 
heard  that  Naboth  was  stoned,  and  was  dead,  that  Jezebel 
said  to  Ahab: — "Arise,  take  possession  of  the  vineyard 
of  Naboth  the  Jezreelite,  which  he  refused  to  give  thee 
for  money:  for  Naboth  is  not  alive,  but  dead."  And  it 
came  to  pass,  when  Ahab  heard  that  Naboth  was  dead, 
that  Ahab  rose  up  to  go  down  to  the  vineyard  of  Naboth 
the  Jezreelite,  to  take  possession  of  it. 

And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Elijah  the  Tishbite, 
saying: — "Arise,  go  down  to  meet  Ahab  king  of  Israel, 
which  is  in  Samaria :  behold,  he  is  in  the  vineyard  of  Na- 
both, whither  he  is  gone  down  to  possess  it.  And  thou 
shalt  speak  unto  him,  saying.  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Hast 
thou  killed,  and  also  taken  possession?  And  thou  shalt 
speak  unto  him,  saying,  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  In  the  place 
where  dogs  licked  the  blood  of  Naboth  shall  dogs  lick  thy 
blood,  even  thine."  And  Ahab  said  to  Elijah: — "Hast 
thou  found  me,  O  mine  enemy  ?"  And  he  answered : — "I 
have  found  thee :  because  thou  hast  sold  thyself  to  work 


102        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  Behold,  I  will  bring  evil 
upon  thee,  and  will  take  away  thy  posterity,  and  will  cut 
off  from  Ahab  every  man  child,  and  him  that  is  shut  up 
and  him  that  is  left  in  Israel,  and  will  make  thine  house 
like  the  house  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat,  and  like  the 
house  of  Baasha  the  son  of  Ahijah,  for  the  provocation 
wherewith  thou  hast  provoked  me  to  anger,  and  made 
Israel  to  sin."  And  of  Jezebel  also  spake  the  Lord,  say- 
ing : — 'The  dogs  shall  eat  Jezebel  by  the  wall  of  Jezreel. 
Him  that  dieth  of  Ahab  in  the  city  the  dogs  shall  eat; 
and  him  that  dieth  in  the  field  shall  the  fowls  of  the  air 
eat."  But  there  was  none  like  unto  Ahab,  which  did  sell 
himself  to  work  wickedness  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
whom  Jezebel  his  wife  stirred  up. 

The  final  blow  in  the  long  strife  with  Baal  was  dealt 
by  Jehu,  a  captain  in  the  northern  army  whom  the 
prophet  Elisha  stirred  up  to  rebel  against  the  king  of 
Israel  and  seize  his  throne. 

Jehu  gathered  all  the  people  together,  and  said  unto 
them: — "Ahab  served  Baal  a  little;  but  Jehu  shall  serve 
him  much.  Now  therefore  call  unto  me  all  the  prophets 
of  Baal,  all  his  servants,  and  all  his  priests ;  let  none  be 
wanting :  for  I  have  a  great  sacrifice  to  do  to  Baal ;  who- 
soever shall  be  wanting,  he  shall  not  live."  But  Jehu  did 
it  in  subtilty,  to  the  intent  that  he  might  destroy  the  wor- 
shippers of  Baal.  And  Jehu  said : — "Proclaim  a  solemn 
assembly  for  Baal."  And  they  proclaimed  it.  And  Jehu 
sent  through  all  Israel :  and  all  the  worshippers  of  Baal 
came,  so  that  there  was  not  a  man  left  that  came  not.  And. 
they  came  into  the  house  of  Baal ;  and  the  house  of  Baal 
was  full  from  one  end  to  another.  And  he  said  unto  him 
that  was  over  the  vestry: — "Bring  forth  vestments  for 
all  the  worshippers  of  Baal."  And  he  brought  them  forth 
vestments.  And  Jehu  went,  and  Jehonadab  the  son  of 
Rechab,  into  the  house  of  Baal,  and  said  unto  the  wor- 
shippers of  Baal: — "Search,  and  look  that  there  be  here 
with  you  none  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord,  but  the  wor- 
shippers of  Baal  only."    And  when  they  went  in  to  offer 


THE   TWO    HISTORIES  103 

sacrifices  and  burnt  offerings,  Jehu  appointed  fourscore 
men  without,  and  said : — "If  any  of  the  men  whom  I  have 
brought  into  your  hands  escape,  he  that  letteth  him  go, 
his  Hfe  shall  be  for  the  life  of  him."  And  it  came  to  pass, 
as  soon  as  he  had  made  an  end  of  offering  the  burnt  offer- 
ing, that  Jehu  said  to  the  guard  and  to  the  captains  : — "Go 
in,  and  slay  them ;  let  none  come  forth."  And  they  sm.ote 
them  with  the  edge  of  the  sword;  and  the  guard  and  the 
captains  cast  them  out,  and  went  to  the  city  of  the  house 
of  Baal.  And  they  brought  forth  the  images  out  of  the 
house  of  Baal,  and  burned  them.  And  they  brake  down 
the  image  of  Baal,  and  brake  down  the  house  of  Baal, 
and  made  it  a  draught  house  unto  this  day.  Thus  Jehu 
destroyed  Baal  out  of  Israel. 

2.  The  second  era  is  that  of  the  decline  and  fall  of 
Israel  and  Judah.  The  initial  approximate  date  is  750. 

This  era  includes  the  invasion  of  the  Assyrians,  who 
destroyed  the  capital  city  of  Samaria,  and  deported 
great  numbers  of  people  from  the  northern  kingdom, 
in  721 ;  and  the  invasion  of  the  Chaldeans,  who  de- 
stroyed the  capital  city  of  Jerusalem,  and  deported  the 
people  of  the  southern  kingdom  in  586.  The  principal 
literary  activity  of  this  time  was  that  of  the  prophets. 
One  group  of  them  wrote  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
eighth  century,  750-700,  in  the  crisis  of  the  Assyrian 
invasion;  another  group  wrote  in  the  last  part  of  the 
seventh  century,  and  the  first  part  of  the  sixth,  625- 
550,  in  the  crisis  of  the  Chaldean  conquest,  and  under 
the  conditions  of  the  exile  which  followed.  Between 
the  Assyrian  period  and  the  Chaldean  period  appeared 
(621)  the  exceedingly  influential  book  of  Dcuteron^ 
omy;  and  the  first  historical  series,  Samuel  and  Kings, 
was  substantially  completed. 


104        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

3.  The  third  era  of  the  history  begins  with  the  re- 
turn from  exile.  An  initial  approximate  date,  for 
easy  memory,  is  the  year  500. 

By  that  time  the  Jews,  released  from  captivity  by 
the  conquest  of  the  Chaldeans  by  the  Persians,  had 
returned,  many  of  them,  to  their  own  land,  and  had 
rebuilt  the  temple.  (Completed  516.)  In  this  era  the 
historians  were  active,  publishing  the  second  historical 
series,  and  preparing  the  last  edition  of  the  Penta- 
teuch. The  prophets  also  were  active,  though  not  with 
the  ability  of  the  men  of  the  Assyrian  and  the  Chal- 
dean periods.  The  most  important  writing  was  done 
by  the  poets  and  the  wise  men. 

Outside  of  the  narrowed  boundaries  of  Judah,  the 
year  500  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  golden  century.  This 
was  the  time  when  the  Greeks  met  the  invading  Per- 
sians at  Marathon  (490)  and  Salamis  (480)  and 
turned  them  back  in  defeat  from  the  shores  of  Europe. 
Within  the  space  of  a  hundred  glorious  years  ^schy- 
lus,  Sophocles  and  Euripides  were  writing  plays  in 
Athens,  Socrates  and  Plato  were  teaching  philosophy, 
and  Perciles  and  Phidias  were  realizing  the  best  dreams 
of  administrators  and  artists.  About  the  same  time 
Confucius  in  China  (551-478)  and  Gotama  Buddha 
in  India  (568-488)  were  working  out  the  systems  of 
ethics  and  of  religion  which  have  so  profoundly  af- 
fected the  life  of  the  East.  To  this  period  probably 
belongs  the  book  of  Job. 


VIII 


THE   prophets:     the  ASSYRIAN    PERIOD 


TOWARD  the  end  of  the  long  and  prosperous 
reign  of  Jeroboam  II  (c.  750),  there  appeared 
in  Bethel^ — one  of  the  two  holy  cities  of  the  northern 
kingdom, — a  shepherd  named  Amos.  He  came  from 
the  south,  from  the  "wilderness  of  Judah"  by  the  Dead 
Sea,  and  the  looks  of  the  man,  in  his  shepherd's  dress, 
attracted  a  crowd  about  him  in  the  street  as  he  began 
to  speak.  He  showed  his  knowledge  of  human  nature 
by  first  denouncing  the  enemies  of  Israel. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord:  For  three  transgressions  of 
Damascus,  and  for  four,  I  will  not  turn  away  the  punish- 
ment thereof;  because  they  have  threshed  Gilead  with 
threshing  instruments  of  iron :  but  I  will  send  a  fire  into 
the  house  of  Hazael,  which  shall  devour  the  palaces  of 
Ben-hadad.  I  will  break  also  the  bar  of  Damascus,  and 
cut  off  the  inhabitant  from  the  plain  of  Aven,  and  him 
that  holdeth  the  sceptre  from  the  house  of  Eden:  and 
the  people  of  Syria  shall  go  into  captivity  unto  Kir,  saith 
the  Lord. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord :  For  three  transgressions  of  Gaza, 
and  for  four,  I  will  not  turn  away  the  punishment  there- 
of;  because  they  carried  away  captive  the  whole  people, 
to  dehver  them  up  to  Edom :  but  I  will  send  a  fire  on  the 

105 


106        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

wall  of  Gaza,  which  shall  devour  the  palaces  thereof :  and 
I  will  cut  off  the  inhabitant  from  Ashdod,  and  him  that 
holdeth  the  sceptre  from  Ashkelon,  and  I  will  turn  mine 
hand  against  Ekron:  and  the  remnant  of  the  Philistines 
shall  perish,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord :  for  three  transgressions  of  Tyre, 
and  for  four,  I  will  not  turn  away  the  punishment 
thereof ;  because  they  delivered  up  the  whole  people  to 
Edom,  and  remembered  not  the  brotherly  covenant:  but 
I  will  send  a  fire  on  the  wall  of  Tyre,  which  shall  devour 
the  palaces  thereof. 

Then  Edom,  then  Ammon,  then  Moab,  then  Judah, — 
and  then,  Israel. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord :  For  three  transgressions  of 
Israel,  and  for  four,  I  will  not  turn  away  the  punishment 
thereof;  because  they  sold  the  righteous  for  silver,  and 
the  poor  for  a  pair  of  shoes ;  that  pant  after  the  dust  of 
the  earth  on  the  head  of  the  poor,  and  turn  aside  the  way 
of  the  meek. 

Hear  this  word  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken  against  you, 
O  children  of  Israel,  against  the  whole  family  which  I 
brought  up  from  the  land  of  Egypt,  saying : — 

You  only  have  I  known  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth : 
therefore  I  will  punish  you  for  all  your  iniquities. 

Ye  who  turn  judgment  to  wormwood,  and  cast  down 
righteousness  to  the  earth,  seek  him  that  maketh  the 
seven  stars  and  Orion,  and  turneth  the  shadow  of  death 
into  the  morning,  and  maketh  the  day  dark  with  night : 
that  calleth  for  the  waters  of  the  sea,  and  poureth  them 
out  upon  the  face  of  the  earth :  The  Lord  is  his  name : 
that  causeth  destruction  to  flash  forth  against  the  strong, 
so  that  destruction  shall  come  against  the  fortress. 

They  hate  him  that  rebuketh  in  the  gate,  and  they 
abhor  him  that  speaketh  uprightly.  Forasmuch  therefore 
as  your  treading  is  upon  the  poor,  and  ye  take  from  him 
burdens  of  wheat :  ye  have  built  houses  of  hewn  stone, 
but  ye  shall  not  dwell  in  them ;  ye  have  planted  pleasant 
vineyards,  but  ye  shall  not  drink  wine  of  them.    For  I 


THE   ASSYRIAN    PERIOD  107 

know  your  manifold  transgressions  and  your  mighty  sins : 
they  afflict  the  just,  they  take  a  bribe,  and  they  turn  aside 
the  poor  in  the  gate  from  their  right.  Therefore  the 
prudent  shall  keep  silence  in  that  time;  for  it  is  an  evil 
time.  Seek  good,  and  not  evil,  that  ye  may  live :  and  so 
the  Lord,  the  God  of  hosts,  shall  be  with  you,  as  ye  have 
spoken.  Hate  the  evil,  and  love  the  good,  and  establish 
judgment  in  the  gate:  it  may  be  that  the  Lord  God  of 
hosts  will  be  gracious  unto  the  remnant  of  Joseph. 

I  hate,  I  despise  your  feast  days,  and  I  will  not  smell 
in  your  solemn  assemblies.  Though  ye  offer  me  burnt 
offerings  and  your  meal  offerings,  I  will  not  accept  them : 
neither  will  I  regard  the  peace  offerings  of  your  fat 
beasts.  Take  thou  away  from  me  the  noise  of  thy  songs ; 
for  I  will  not  hear  the  melody  of  thy  viols.  But  let  judg- 
ment run  down  as  waters,  and  righteousness  as  a  mighty 
stream. 

It  is  a  prophecy  of  the  sure  ruin  of  a  people  who  are 
committing  the  sins  of  prosperity.  They  are  oppress- 
ing the  poor,  and  perverting  justice,  and  in  their  re- 
ligion ritual  has  taken  the  place  of  righteousness. 

Presently  out  came  the  priest  of  Bethel,  and  ex- 
pelled the  prophet  from  the  city. 

Then  Amaziah  the  priest  of  Beth-el  sent  to  Jeroboam 
king  of  Israel,  saying: — "Amos  hath  conspired  against 
thee  in  the  midst  of  the  house  of  Israel :  the  land  is  not 
able  to  bear  all  his  words.  For  thus  Amos  saith,  Jero- 
boam shall  die  by  the  sword,  and  Israel  shall  surely  be 
led  away  captive  out  of  their  own  land."  Also  Amaziah 
said  unto  Amos : — "O  thou  seer,  go,  flee  thee  away  into 
the  land  of  Judah,  and  there  eat  bread,  and  prophesy 
there :  but  prophesy  not  again  any  more  at  Beth-el :  for 
it  is  the  king's  chapel,  and  it  is  the  king's  court."  Then 
answered  Amos,  and  said  to  Amaziah: — "I  am  no 
prophet,  neither  am  I  a  prophet's  son ;  but  I  am  an  herd- 
man,  and  a  pincher  of  sycomore  fruit:  and  the  Lord 


108        HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

took  me  as  I  followed  the  flock,  and  the  Lord  said  unto 
me,  Go,  prophesy  unto  my  people  Israel." 

Nevertheless,  away  he  went.  There  was  no  help  for  it. 
Even  if  the  Lord  had  spoken  to  him,  as  he  said,  he 
might  not  be  permitted  to  repeat  even  the  Lord's  words 
when  they  took  the  form  of  a  denunciation  of  society 
and  of  the  church. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  significant  of  the  dramatic 
scenes  of  the  Old  Testament,  for  here  meet  the  men, 
the  prophet  and  the  priest,  who  represent  the  two 
everlastingly  opposing  forces  whose  contention  fills  the 
pages  of  history. 

The  priest  is  a  conservative,  he  stands  for  the  main- 
tenance of  things  as  they  are;  he  is  an  institutionalist, 
holding  an  office  which  is  both  political  and  ecclesi- 
astical, a  churchman  who  is  a  counselor  of  the  king; 
he  is  a  friend  of  the  rich.  The  prophet  is  a  radical,  he 
would  change  or  destroy  things  as  they  are  for  the 
sake  of  things  as  they  ought  to  be;  he  is  an  individual- 
ist, in  whose  opinion  the  state  is  a  good  state,  and  the 
church  a  good  church,  only  w^hen  they  do  good,  if 
they  do  ill  they  ought  to  be  rebuked  and  reformed; 
the  prophet  is  a  friend  of  the  poor,  on  whom  the  ill- 
doing  of  the  church  and  of  the  state  falls  most  heav- 
ily. It  was  in  the  spirit  of  the  prophet  that  Samuel 
rebuked  King  Saul,  and  Nathan  rebuked  King  David, 
and  Elijah  rebuked  King  Ahab. 

The  priest  was  an  official  person,  appointed  and  or- 
dained; he  was  dependent  upon  precedent,  careful  to 
walk  in  the  old  paths ;  his  formula  was  "It  is  written," 
—written   in  the   ancient  books.    The  prophet  was 


THE   ASSYRIAN    PERIOD  109 

almost  always  an  unofficial  person,  a  layman.  There 
were  official  prophets,  "schools"  of  them,  in  attendance 
at  court,  often  allies  of  the  priests.  Most  of  the 
prophets  whose  names  we  know  had  nothing  to  do  with 
them.  The  great  prophets  were  like  Micaiah  (/  Kings 
22)  oi  whom  Ahab  said,  "I  hate  him,  for  he  doth  not 
prophesy  good  concerning  me,  but  evil."  There  were 
four  hundred  official  prophets  who  made  it  their  busi- 
ness to  say  whatever  the  king  liked  to  hear,  of  whom 
Micaiah  said  that  the  spirit  by  which  they  spoke  was 
a  lying  spirit.  It  was  prophets  such  as  these  of  whom 
Amos  was  thinking  when  he  said  proudly,  "I  am  no 
prophet,  neither  am  I  a  prophet's  son."  The  formula 
of  the  true  prophet  was  "Thus  saith  the  Lord." 

It  may  have  been  in  consequence  of  the  silencing  of 
Amos  by  the  priest  that  he  wrote  his  book.  It  was  the 
first  collection  of  written  sermons,  the  first  example 
of  a  new  and  inestimably  important  way  of  teaching 
religion. 


The  book  of  ^mo^  is  dated  by  its  reference  to  Jero- 
boam II  (7:11).  The  book  of  Hosea  is  dated  a  few 
years  later  by  its  clear  sight  of  the  approaching  fall  of 
the  house  of  Jehu,  of  which  Jeroboam  II  was  the  last 
successful  king  (1 :4),  and  by  its  allusions  to  the  cor- 
ruption and  anarchy  in  the  midst  of  which  that  dynasty 
came  to  an  end. 

There  is  no  truth,  nor  mercy,  nor  knowledge  of  God  in 
the  land.  They  swear,  and  lie,  and  kill,  and  steal,  and 
commit  adultery;  they  break  out,  and  blood  toucheth 
blood.  (4:1,2.) 


no        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

They  have  devoured  their  judges ;  all  their  kings  have 
fallen;  there  is  none  among  them  that  calleth  unto 
me.    {7:7.) 

Hosea  became  a  prophet  by  the  illumination  of  a 
bitter  experience.  The  account  of  it  is  given  with  some 
obscurity  in  his  first  and  third  chapters.  His  wife  was 
unfaithful  to  him.  She  deserted  him  and  their  three 
little  children,  two  sons  and  a  daughter.  After  de- 
grading experiences,  forsaken  by  her  false  friends, 
she  was  offered  for  sale  as  a  slave.  Her  husband,  find- 
ing her  in  that  situation,  bought  her  and  took  her  back 
to  their  ruined  home. 

The  Lord  said  unto  me:  "Go  yet,  love  a  woman  be- 
loved of  her  friend,  yet  an  adulteress,  according  to  the 
love  of  the  Lord  toward  the  children  of  Israel,  who  look 
to  other  gods  and  love  flagons  of  wine."  So  I  bought  her 
to  me  for  fifteen  pieces  of  silver,  and  seventeen  bushels 
of  barley.  And  I  said  unto  her :  "Thou  shalt  abide  with 
me  many  days ;  thou  shalt  not  play  the  harlot,  and  thou 
shalt  not  be  for  another  man :  so  will  I  also  be  for  thee." 

Out  of  this  experience  there  came  to  Hosea  that 
which  is  called  in  theology  a  revelation.  In  his  book 
appeared  a  new  truth,  one  of  the  most  important  that 
has  ever  been  made  plain  to  the  mind  of  man,  the  truth 
of  the  love  of  God. 

Remember  that  the  Bible,  if  the  parts  of  it  which 
existed  in  Hosea's  day  could  have  been  gathered  to- 
gether, would  have  consisted  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  and 
Numbers  {JE),  Joshua  and  Judges  (without  the 
morals),  and  so  much  of  Samuel  and  Kings  as  gave 
the  history  down  to  Jeroboam  II,  with  the  book  of 


THE   ASSYRIAN    PERIOD  111 

Amos.  In  the  Bible  thus  far  the  providence  of  God 
was  taught,  the  justice  of  God,  the  righteousness  of 
God,  and  the  indignation  of  God  against  sinners. 
Hosea  was  the  first  man  to  perceive  clearly  and  to 
declare  plainly  that  the  love  of  God  continued  without 
fail  through  the  sin  of  man,  and  through  the  punish- 
ment by  which  that  sin  is  followed. 

This  was  revealed  to  Hosea  by  his  own  experience. 
He  said  to  himself,  "My  love  for  my  wife,  who  has 
deserted  me  and  sinned  against  me,  is  according  to  the 
love  of  God  toward  the  children  of  Israel,  who  look 
to  other  gods."  The  man  said,  in  effect,  "What  I  am 
at  my  best  is  a  disclosure  of  what  God  is,  who  has 
made  me  in  his  own  image;  for  God  must  be  at  least 
as  good  as  I  am.  And  here  in  my  heart  is  this  unfail- 
ing love.  There  must  be  the  same  unfailing  love  in  the 
heart  of  God."  The  revelation  was  more  certain  than 
that  of  any  vision  or  of  any  words  spoken  from  the 
sky,  for  there  it  was  in  the  evident  and  abiding  con- 
stitution of  human  nature,  and  its  basis  in  reason  was 
plain  to  any  thoughtful  person.  Since  the  idea  of  God 
has  flashed  into  the  mind  of  primitive  man,  no  more 
important  revelation  had  been  made.  To  this  day  it 
constitutes  the  most  significant  difference  between  the 
religion  of  the  Bible  and  all  the  other  religions  of  the 
world. 

Hosea  is  as  stern  in  denunciation  of  sin  as  is  Amos, 
but  in  his  book  the  divine  indignation  is  spoken  in  the 
spirit  of  fatherly  love.  "How  shall  I  give  thee  up, 
Ephraim?  how  shall  I  deliver  thee,  Israel?"  If  the 
people  will  but  repent  and  return,  and  cease  to  do  evil, 


112        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

the  unchangingly  loving  God  will  receive,  and  forgive, 
and  bless  them.  The  story  of  the  Prodigal  Wife  is 
like  the  story  of  the  Prodigal  Son. 

O  Israel,  return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God ;  for  thou  hast 
fallen  by  thine  iniquity.  Take  with  you  words,  and  turn 
to  the  Lord:  say  unto  him: — "Take  away  all  iniquity, 
and  receive  us  graciously :  so  will  we  render  the  calves  of 
our  lips.  Asshur  shall  not  save  us ;  we  will  not  ride  upon 
horses ;  neither  will  we  say  any  more  to  the  work  of  our 
hands.  Ye  are  our  gods :  for  in  thee  the  fatherless  findeth 
mercy."  I  will  heal  their  backsliding,  I  will  love  them 
freely :  for  mine  anger  is  turned  away  from  him.  I  will 
be  as  the  dew  unto  Israel :  he  shall  grow  as  the  lily,  and 
cast  forth  his  roots  as  Lebanon.  His  branches  shall 
spread,  and  his  beauty  shall  be  as  the  olive  tree,  and  his 
smell  as  Lebanon.  They  that  dwell  under  his  shadow 
shall  return;  they  shall  revive  as  the  corn,  and  grow  as 
the  vine:  the  scent  thereof  shall  be  as  the  wine  of  Leb- 
anon. 

But  Israel  did  not  return  to  the  Lord.  Therefore, 
instead  of  entering  into  these  blessings  they  were  pun- 
ished, as  Hosea  prophesied.  The  kingdom  fell,  be- 
cause of  its  iniquity,  at  the  hands  of  the  invading  Asn 
Syrians. 

Ill 

During  the  early  ministry  of  Isaiah  the  peril  from 
the  east  became  so  menacing  that  Israel  joined  with  its 
neighbor  and  old  enemy,  Syria,  to  resist  the  invaders. 
They  called  to  their  aid  the  kingdom  of  Judah. 
"Come,"  said  King  Pekah  of  Samaria  and  King  Rezin 
of  Damascus  to  King  Ahaz  of  Jerusalem,  "let  us  unite 
our  forces  and  hold  the  Assyrians  back."  When  Ahaz 


THE    ASSYRIAN    PERIOD  113 

hesitated,  they  threatened  to  compel  him  into  the  alli- 
ance by  force,  and  joined  their  armies  for  that  pur- 
pose. It  was  the  opinion  of  Isaiah  that  the  thing  for 
Judah  to  do  was  to  sit  still.  The  two  kings,  he  de- 
clared, shall  be  overthrown,  and  that  so  soon  that  it 
shall  happen  before  a  child  bom  to-day  shall  be  old 
enough  to  know  the  difference  between  good  and  evil. 
Name  such  a  child  Immanuel,  he  said,  "God-with-us," 
for  the  Lord  God  shall  do  this.  He  will  fight  for  us. 

And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  days  of  Ahaz  the  son  of 
Jotham,  the  son  of  Uzziah,  king  of  Judah,  that  Rezin  the 
king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah  the  son  of  Remaliah,  king  of 
Israel,  went  up  toward  Jerusalem  to  war  against  it,  but 
could  not  prevail  against  it.  And  it  was  told  the  house 
of  David,  saying: — ''Syria  is  confederate  with  Ephraim." 
And  his  heart  was  moved,  and  the  heart  of  his  people,  as 
the  trees  of  the  wood  are  moved  with  the  wind.  Then 
said  the  Lord  unto  Isaiah : — *'Go  forth  now  to  meet  Ahaz, 
thou,  and  Shear-jashub  thy  son,  at  the  end  of  the  con- 
duit of  the  upper  pool  in  the  highway  of  the  fuller's  field ; 
and  say  unto  him,  Take  heed,  and  be  quiet;  fear  not, 
neither  be  fainthearted  for  the  two  tails  of  these  smoking 
firebrands,  for  the  fierce  anger  of  Rezin  with  Syria,  and 
of  the  son  of  Remaliah.  Because  Syria,  Ephraim,  and  the 
son  of  Remaliah,  have  taken  evil  counsel  against  thee, 
saying,  Let  us  go  up  against  Judah,  and  vex  it,  and  let  us 
make  a  breach  therein  for  us,  and  set  a  king  in  the  midst 
of  it,  even  the  son  of  Tabeal:  thus  saith  the  Lord  God, 
It  shall  not  stand,  neither  shall  it  come  to  pass." 

Moreover  the  Lord  spake  again  unto  Ahaz,  saying: — 
"Ask  thee  a  sign  of  the  Lord  thy  God;  ask  it  either  in 
the  depth,  or  in  the  height  above."  But  Ahaz  said: — "I 
will  not  ask,  neither  will  I  tempt  the  Lord." 

And  he  said: — "Hear  ye  now,  O  house  of  David;  Is 
it  a  small  thing  for  you  to  weary  men,  but  will  ye  weary 
my  God  also?  Therefore  the  Lord  himself  shall  give 
you  a  sign:   Behold,  a  young  woman  is  with  child,  and 


114        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

shall  bring  forth  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel. 
Butter  and  honey  shall  he  eat,  that  he  may  know  to  re- 
fuse the  evil,  and  choose  the  good.  For  before  the  child 
shall  know  to  refuse  the  evil,  and  choose  the  good,  the 
land  whose  two  kings  thou  abhorrest  shall  be  forsaken. 

Ahaz  refused  the  counsel  of  Isaiah.  He  hired  the 
Assyrians  to  fight  for  him  against  Israel  and  Syria, 
as  the  Britons  in  their  extremity  hired  the  Angels  and 
Saxons  to  fight  for  them  against  the  Picts  and  Scots. 
Then  the  storm  fell.  The  Assyrians  destroyed  the 
kingdoms  of  Syria  and  of  Israel,  and  marched  down 
against  Jerusalem. 

Isaiah  and  Micah,  contemporaries  in  their  ministry 
in  the  southern  kingdom,  as  Amos  and  Hosea  had  been 
contemporary  in  the  northern,  agree  that  this  evil  is 
because  of  the  sins  of  Judah.  Micah  sees  the  enemy 
coming  from  the  destruction  of  Samaria,  overruning 
the  villages  of  the  countryside  in  which  he  lives,  on 
their  way  to  Jerusalem.  This,  he  says,  is  a  punishment 
for  the  covetousness  and  cruelty  of  the  rich. 

Hear,  all  ye  people;  hearken,  O  earth,  and  all  that 
therein  is :  and  let  the  Lord  God  be  witness  against  you, 
the  Lord  from  his  holy  temple.  For,  behold,  the  Lord 
Cometh  forth  out  of  his  place,  and  will  come  down,  and 
tread  upon  the  high  places  of  the  earth.  And  the  moun- 
tains shall  be  molten  under  him,  and  the  valleys  shall 
be  cleft,  as  wax  before  the  fire,  and  as  the  waters  that  are 
poured  down  a  steep  place.  From  the  transgression  of 
Jacob  is  all  this,  and  for  the  sins  of  the  house  of  Israel. 
What  is  the  transgression  of  Jacob?  Is  it  not  Samaria? 
and  what  are  the  high  places  of  Judah?  Are  they  not 
Jerusalem?  Therefore  I  will  make  Samaria  as  an  heap 
of  the  field,  and  as  plantings  of  a  vineyard:  and  I  will 
pour  down  the  stones  thereof  into  the  valley,  and  I  will 


THE   ASSYRIAN    PERIOD  115 

discover  the  foundations  thereof.  And  all  the  graven 
images  thereof  shall  be  beaten  to  pieces,  and  all  the  hires 
thereof  shall  be  burned  with  the  fire,  and  all  the  idols 
thereof  will  I  lay  desolate :  for  she  gathered  them  of  the 
hire  of  an  harlot,  and  they  shall  return  to  the  hire  of  an 
harlot.  Therefore  I  will  wail  and  howl,  I  will  go  stripped 
and  naked:  I  will  make  a  wailing  like  the  jackals,  and 
mourning  as  the  ostriches.  For  her  wound  is  incurable ; 
for  it  is  come  unto  Judah ;  it  hath  smitten  the  gate  of  my 
people,  even  to  Jerusalem. 

Woe  to  them  that  devise  iniquity,  and  work  evil  upon 
their  beds !  when  the  morning  is  light,  they  practise  it, 
because  it  is  in  the  power  of  their  hand.  And  they  covet 
fields,  and  take  them  by  violence;  and  houses,  and  take 
them  away:  so  they  oppress  a  man  and  his  house,  even 
a  man  and  his  heritage.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord ; 
Behold,  against  this  family  do  I  devise  an  evil,  from 
which  ye  shall  not  remove  your  necks;  neither  shall  ye 
go  haughtily :  for  this  time  is  evil. 

Isaiah  at  the  same  time  describes  the  desolation  of 
the  land  around  Jerusalem  as  the  siege  continues,  and 
denounces  the  hypocrisy  of  a  religion  which  has  de- 
generated Into  mere  ceremony.  Nothing,  he  says,  can 
save  the  nation  but  repentance  and  righteous  living. 

Hear,  O  heavens,  and  give  ear,  O  earth :  for  the  Lord 
hath  spoken : — "I  have  nourished  and  brought  up  chil- 
dren, and  they  have  rebelled  against  me.  The  ox  know- 
eth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib:  but  Israel 
doth  not  know,  my  people  doth  not  consider." 

Ah  sinful  nation,  a  people  laden  with  iniquity,  a  seed 
of  evildoers,  children  that  are  corrupters :  they  have  for- 
saken the  Lord,  they  have  provoked  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel  unto  anger,  they  are  gone  away  backward.  Why 
should  ye  be  stricken  any  more  ?  ye  will  revolt  more  and 
more :  the  whole  head  is  sick,  and  the  whole  heart  faint. 
From  the  sole  of  the  foot  even  unto  the  head  there  is  no 
soundness  in  it;  but  wounds,  and  bruises,  and  putrifying 


116        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

sores:  so  they  have  not  been  closed,  neither  bound  up, 
neither  mollified  with  ointment.  Your  country  is  deso- 
late, your  cities  are  burned  with  fire :  your  land,  strangers 
devour  it  in  your  presence,  and  it  is  desolate,  as  over- 
thrown by  strangers.  And  the  daughter  of  Zion  is  left 
as  a  cottage  in  a  vineyard,  as  a  lodge  in  a  garden  of 
cucumbers,  as  a  besieged  city.  Except  the  Lord  of 
hosts  had  left  unto  us  a  very  small  remnant,  we  should 
have  been  as  Sodom,  and  we  should  have  been  like  unto 
Gomorrah. 

Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  ye  rulers  of  Sodom ;  give 
ear  unto  the  law  of  our  God,  ye  people  of  Gomorrah. 
**To  what  purpose  is  the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices 
unto  me?"  saith  the  Lord:  "I  am  full  of  the  burnt  of- 
ferings of  rams,  and  the  fat  of  fed  beasts ;  and  I  delight 
not  in  the  blood  of  bullocks,  or  of  lambs,  or  of  he  goats. 
When  ye  come  to  appear  before  me,  who  hath  required 
this  at  your  hand,  to  tread  my  courts?  Bring  no  more 
vain  oblations;  incense  is  an  abomination  unto  me;  the 
new  moons  and  sabbaths,  the  calling  of  assemblies, — I 
cannot  away  with  iniquity  and  the  solemn  meeting.  Your 
new  moons  and  your  appointed  feasts  my  soul  hateth: 
they  are  a  trouble  unto  me;  I  am  weary  to  bear  them. 
And  when  ye  spread  forth  your  hands,  I  will  hide  mine 
eyes  from  you :  yea,  when  ye  make  many  prayers,  I  will 
not  hear :  your  hands  are  full  of  blood.  Wash  you,  make 
you  clean ;  put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings  from  before 
mine  eyes ;  cease  to  do  evil ;  learn  to  do  well ;  seek  judg- 
ment, relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  the  fatherless,  plead 
for  the  widow." 

It  is  like  the  ever-memorable  exaltation  of  plain 
goodness  as  the  heart  of  right  religion,  in  Micah: 

Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  the  Lord,  and  bow 
myself  before  the  high  God?  shall  I  come  before  him 
with  burnt  offerings,  with  calves  of  a  year  old?  Will 
the  Lord  be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams,  or  with  ten 
thousands  of  rivers  of  oil  ?  Shall  I  give  my  firstborn  for 
my  transgression,  the  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my 


THE   ASSYRIAN    PERIOD  117 

soul?  He  hath  shewed  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good;  and 
what  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and 
to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God? 

Micah  is  sure  that  Jerusalem  shall  be  utterly  de- 
stroyed. He  is  a  peasant,  like  Amos,  with  a  peasant's 
strong  dislike  of  cities,  with  whose  ways  he  is  un- 
acquainted and  in  which  he  has  no  friends. 

Hear  this,  I  pray  you,  ye  heads  of  the  house  of  Jacob, 
and  princes  of  the  house  of  Israel,  that  abhor  judgment, 
and  pervert  all  equity.  They  build  up  Zion  with  blood, 
and  Jerusalem  with  iniquity.  The  heads  thereof  judge 
for  reward,  and  the  priests  thereof  teach  for  hire,  and  the 
prophets  thereof  divine  for  money:  yet  will  they  lean 
upon  the  Lord,  and  say: — "Is  not  the  Lord  among  us? 
none  evil  can  come  upon  us."  Therefore  shall  Zion  for 
your  sake  be  plowed  as  a  field,  and  Jerusalem  shall  be- 
come heaps,  and  the  mountain  of  the  house  as  the  high 
places  of  the  forest. 

But  Isaiah,  who  is  a  citizen  of  Jerusalem,  an  emi- 
nent person  there,  a  courtier  who  converses  with  kings, 
is  of  a  different  mind.  He  denounces  the  idolatry 
which  still  remains  in  the  religion  of  the  aristocracy. 

Therefore  thou  hast  forsaken  thy  people  the  house 
of  Jacob,  because  they  be  replenished  from  the  east,  and 
are  soothsayers  like  the  Philistines,  and  they  please  them- 
selves in  the  children  of  strangers.  Their  land  also  is 
full  of  silver  and  gold,  neither  is  there  any  end  of  their 
treasures ;  their  land  is  also  full  of  horses,  neither  is  there 
any  end  of  their  chariots :  their  land  also  is  full  of  idols ; 
they  worship  the  work  of  their  own  hands,  that  which 
their  own  fingers  have  made :  and  the  mean  man  boweth 
down,  and  the  great  man  humbleth  himself:  therefore 
forgive  them  not. 


118        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Enter  into  the  rock,  and  hide  thee  in  the  dust,  for  feat 
of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his  majesty.  The 
lofty  looks  of  man  shall  be  humbled,  and  the  haughtiness 
of  men  shall  be  bowed  down,  and  the  Lord  alone  shall  be 
exalted  in  that  day.  For  the  day  of  the  Lord  of  hosts 
shall  be  upon  every  one  that  is  proud  and  lofty,  and  upon 
every  one  that  is  lifted  up ;  and  he  shall  be  brought  low : 
and  upon  all  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  that  are  high  and 
lifted  up,  and  upon  all  the  oaks  of  Bashan,  and  upon  all 
the  high  mountains,  and  upon  all  the  hills  that  are  lifted 
up,  and  upon  every  high  tower,  and  upon  every  fenced 
wall,  and  upon  all  the  ships  of  Tarshish,  and  upon  all 
pleasant  imagery.  And  the  loftiness  of  man  shall  be 
bowed  down,  and  the  haughtiness  of  men  shall  be  made 
low :  and  the  Lord  alone  shall  be  exalted  in  that  day.  And 
the  idols  he  shall  utterly  abolish.  And  they  shall  go  into 
the  holes  of  the  rocks,  and  into  the  caves  of  the  earth,  for 
fear  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his  majesty,  when 
he  ariseth  to  shake  terribly  the  earth.  In  that  day  a  man 
shall  cast  his  idols  of  silver,  and  his  idols  of  gold,  which 
they  made  each  one  for  himself  to  worship,  to  the  moles 
and  to  the  bats ;  to  go  into  the  clefts  of  the  rocks,  and  into 
the  tops  of  the  ragged  rocks,  for  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
for  the  glory  of  his  majesty,  when  he  ariseth  to  shake 
terribly  the  earth. 

He  ridicules  the  foolish  finery  of  the  rich  women, 
"walking  and  mincing  as  they  go,  and  making  a  tin- 
kling with  their  feet." 

In  that  day  the  Lord  will  take  away  the  bravery  of 
their  tinkling  ornaments  about  their  feet,  and  their  cauls, 
and  their  round  tires  like  the  moon,  the  chains,  and  the 
bracelets,  and  the  mufflers,  the  bonnets,  and  the  orna- 
ments of  the  legs,  and  the  headbands,  and  the  tablets, 
and  the  earrings,  the  rings,  and  nose  jewels,  the  change- 
able suits  of  apparel,  and  the  mantles,  and  the  wimples, 
and  the  crisping  pins,  the  glasses,  and  the  fine  linen,  and 
the  hoods,  and  the  vails. 


THE   ASSYRIAN    PERIOD  119 

But  he  IS  confident  of  the  salvation  of  Jerusalem. 
The  avenging  Lord  shall  indeed  summon  the  As- 
syrians in  his  anger. 

And  he  will  lift  up  an  ensign  to  the  nations  from  far, 
and  will  hiss  unto  them  from  the  end  of  the  earth :  and, 
behold,  they  shall  come  with  speed  swiftly:  none  shall 
be  weary  nor  stumble  among  them ;  none  shall  slumber 
nor  sleep ;  neither  shall  the  girdle  of  their  loins  be  loosed, 
nor  the  latchet  of  their  shoes  be  broken :  whose  arrows 
are  sharp,  and  all  their  bows  bent,  their  horses'  hoofs 
shall  be  counted  like  flint,  and  their  wheels  like  a  whirl- 
wind: their  roarings  shall  be  like  a  lion,  they  shall  roar 
like  young  lions :  yea,  they  shall  roar,  and  lay  hold  of  the 
prey,  and  shall  carry  it  away  safe,  and  none  shall  deliver 
it.  And  in  that  day  they  shall  roar  against  them  like 
the  roaring  of  the  sea:  and  if  one  look  unto  the  land, 
behold  darkness  and  sorrow,  and  the  light  is  darkened  in 
the  heavens  thereof. 

And  the  Assyrian  shall  come  in  his  pride  and  might. 

For  he  saith  : — "Are  not  my  princes  altogether  kings  ? 
Is  not  Calno  as  Carchemish?  is  not  Hamath  as  Arpad? 
is  not  Samaria  as  Damascus?  As  my  hand  hath  found 
the  kingdoms  of  idols,  and  whose  graven  images  did  ex- 
cel them  of  Jerusalem  and  of  Samaria ;  shall  I  not,  as  I 
have  done  unto  Samaria  and  her  idols,  so  do  to  Jerusalem 
and  her  idols?"  Wherefore  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that 
when  the  Lord  hath  performed  his  whole  work  upon 
mount  Zion  and  on  Jerusalem,  I  w411  punish  the  fruit  of 
the  stout  heart  of  the  king  of  Assyria,  and  the  glory  of 
his  high  looks.  For  he  saith: — **By  the  strength  of  my 
hand  I  have  done  it,  and  by  my  wisdom;  for  I  am  pru- 
dent :  and  I  have  removed  the  bounds  of  the  people,  and 
have  robbed  their  treasures,  and  I  have  put  down  the  in- 
habitants like  a  valiant  man :  and  my  hand  hath  found  as 
a  nest  the  riches  of  the  people :  and  as  one  gathereth  eggs 
that  are  left,  have  I  gathered  all  the  earth;  and  there  was 


120        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

none  that  moved  the  wing,  or  opened  the  mouth,  or 
peeped."  Shall  the  axe  boast  itself  against  him  that  hew- 
eth  therewith?  or  shall  the  saw  magnify  itself  against  him 
that  shaketh  it?  as  if  the  rod  should  shake  itself  against 
them  that  lift  it  up ;  or  as  if  the  staff  should  lift  up  that 
which  is  not  wood. 

Isaiah,  like  Micah,  imagines  the  march  of  the  invading 
army,  from  one  conquered  city  to  another,  toward 
Jerusalem. 

He  is  come  to  Aiath,  he  is  passed  to  Migron ;  at  Mich- 
mash  he  hath  mustered  his  baggage :  they  are  gone  over 
the  passage :  they  have  taken  up  their  lodging  at  Geba ; 
Ramah  is  afraid;  Gibeah  of  Saul  is  fled.  Lift  up  thy 
voice,  O  daughter  of  Gallim :  cause  it  to  be  heard  unto 
Laish,  O  poor  Anathoth.  Madmenah  is  removed ;  the  in- 
habitants of  Gebim  gather  themselves  to  flee.  This  very 
day  shall  he  halt  at  Nob :  he  shall  shake  his  hand  against 
the  mount  of  the  daughter  of  Zion,  the  hill  of  Jerusalem. 

But  the  Lord  God  will  protect  his  holy  city. 

Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  hosts: — "O 
my  people  that  dwellest  in  Zion,  be  not  afraid  of  the 
Assyrian :  he  shall  smite  thee  with  a  rod,  and  shall  lift 
up  his  staff  against  thee,  after  the  manner  of  Egypt.  For 
yet  a  very  little  while,  and  the  indignation  shall  cease,  and 
mine  anger  in  their  destruction."  And  the  Lord  of  hosts 
shall  stir  up  a  scourge  for  him  according  to  the  slaughter 
of  Midian  at  the  rock  of  Oreb :  and  as  his  rod  was  upon 
the  sea,  so  shall  he  lift  it  up  after  the  manner  of  Egypt. 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  his  burden  shall 
be  taken  away  from  off  thy  shoulder,  and  his  yoke  from 
off  thy  neck,  and  the  yoke  shall  be  destroyed  because  of 
the  anointing. 

Behold,  the  Lord,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  shall  lop  the 
bough  with  terror :  and  the  high  ones  of  stature  shall  be 
hewn  down,  and  the  haughty  shall  be  humbled.    And  he 


THE   ASSYRIAN    PERIOD  121 

shall  cut  down  the  thickets  of  the  forest  with  iron,  and 
Lebanon  shall  fall  by  a  Glorious  One. 

And  there  shall  come  forth  a  rod  out  of  the  stem  of 
Jesse,  and  a  Branch  shall  grow  out  of  his  roots :  and  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him,  the  spirit  of  wis- 
dom and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might, 
the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord; 
and  shall  make  him  of  quick  understanding  in  the  fear 
of  the  Lord :  and  he  shall  not  judge  after  the  sight  of  his 
eyes,  neither  reprove  after  the  hearing  of  his  ears:  but 
with  righteousness  shall  he  judge  the  poor,  and  reprove 
with  equity  for  the  meek  of  the  earth :  and  he  shall  smite 
the  earth  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth,  and  with  the  breath 
of  his  lips  shall  he  slay  the  wicked.  And  righteousness 
shall  be  the  girdle  of  his  loins,  and  faithfulness  the  girdle 
of  his  reins.  The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and 
the  leopard  shall  He  down  with  the  kid ;  and  the  calf  and 
the  young  lion  and  the  f  atling  together ;  and  a  little  child 
shall  lead  them.  And  the  cow  and  the  bear  shall  feed ; 
their  young  ones  shall  lie  dow^n  together :  and  the  lion 
shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox.  And  the  sucking  child  shall 
play  on  the  hole  of  the  asp,  and  the  weaned  child  shall  put 
his  hand  on  the  cockatrice'  den.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor 
destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain:  for  the  earth  shall  be 
full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea. 

This  expectation  of  a  Golden  Age  is  characteristic 
of  the  prophets.  Out  of  disaster  and  defeat  they  look 
forward  to  a  time  when  the  world-powxrs  shall  be 
humbled,  and  the  kingdom  of  Judah  shall  be  supreme 
over  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  In  that  time,  war 
shall  be  no  more,  and  the  v/ill  of  the  Lord  God  shall 
be  obeyed  by  all  people. 

It  appears  In  Micah  (4:1-5)  and  In  Isaiah  (2:2-4) 
in  the  same  words. 

But  in  the  last  days  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  the 
mountain  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  shall  be  estabhshed 


122        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  it  shall  be  exalted  above 
the  hills,  and  the  people  shall  flow  unto  it.  And  many- 
nations  shall  come,  and  say: — "Come,  and  let  us  go  up 
to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  and  to  the  house  of  the  God 
of  Jacob ;  and  he  will  teach  us  of  his  ways,  and  we  will 
walk  in  his  paths."  For  the  law  shall  go  forth  of  Zion, 
and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem.  And  he  shall 
judge  among  many  people,  and  rebuke  strong  nations 
afar  off ;  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plowshares, 
and  their  spears  into  pruninghooks :  nation  shall  not  lift 
up  a  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war 
any  more.  But  they  shall  sit  every  man  under  his  vine 
and  under  his  fig  tree ;  and  none  shall  make  them  afraid : 
for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  hath  spoken  it. 

Sometimes  the  prophet,  looking  into  the  far  future, 
sees  not  only  the  deliverance  but  the  deliverer,  the 
anointed  one,  the  Messiah,  who  shall  put  to  flight  the 
enemies  of  the  Lord  and  bring  in  the  Golden  Age. 
Micah  says  that  he  shall  come  like  David  from  Beth- 
lehem. 

Thou,  Bethlehem,  Ephratah,  though  thou  be  little 
among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  he 
come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to  be  ruler  in  Israel,  whose 
goings  forth  have  been  from  of  old,  from  everlasting. 

Isaiah  says  that  he  shall  appear  in  the  line  of  David, 
"a  rod  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,"  but  like  Micah  he 
brings  into  his  portrayal  of  him  mystical,  divine  ele- 
ments. The  Messiah  is  a  great  conqueror  and  a  wise 
ruler,  but  much  more. 

The  people  that  walked  in  darkness  have  seen  a  great 
light :  they  that  dwell  in  the  land  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
upon  them  hath  the  light  shined.  Thou  hast  multiplied 
the  nation,  thou  hast  increased  the  joy:  they  joy  before 


THE   ASSYRIAN    PERIOD  123 

thee  according  to  the  joy  in  harvest,  and  as  men  rejoice 
when  they  divide  the  spoil.  For  thou  hast  broken  the 
yoke  of  his  burden,  and  the  staff  of  his  shoulder,  the  rod 
of  his  oppressor,  as  in  the  day  of  Midian.  Yea,  every 
boot  of  the  booted  warrior,  and  the  cloak  rolled  in  blood, 
they  are  to  be  burned  up  as  fuel  of  fire.  For  unto  us  a 
child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given :  and  the  government 
shall  be  upon  his  shoulder:  and  his  name  shall  be  called 
Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The  mighty  God,  The  everlastin.'^ 
Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace.  Of  the  increase  of  his  gov- 
ernment and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne 
of  David,  and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  order  it,  and  to  estab- 
lish it  with  judgment  and  with  justice  from  henceforth 
even  for  ever.  The  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  will  per- 
form this. 

IV 


Later  in  the  book  there  is  a  Messianic  passage  which, 
with  all  its  obscurity  and  difficulty,  still  declares 
plainly  that  the  deliverance  shall  be  wrought  out  at 
the  cost  of  pain  to  the  deliverer.  He  shall  suffer,  and 
by  means  of  his  suffering,  even  by  means  of  his  death, 
we  shall  be  saved. 

How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him 
that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace ;  that 
bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that  publisheth  salva- 
tion ;  that  saith  unto  Zion : — 'Thy  God  reigneth !"  Thy 
watchmen  shall  lift  up  the  voice ;  with  the  voice  together 
shall  they  sing:  for  they  shall  see  eye  to  eye,  when  the 
Lord  shall  bring  again  Zion.  Break  forth  into  joy,  sing 
together,  ye  waste  places  of  Jerusalem :  for  the  Lord  hath 
comforted  his  people,  he  hath  redeemed  Jerusalem.  The 
Lord  hath  made  bare  his  holy  arm  in  the  eyes  of  all  the 
nations ;  and  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  see  the  salva- 
tion of  our  God.  Depart  ye,  depart  3'e,  go  ye  out  from 
thence,  touch  no  unclean  thing ;  go  ye  out  of  the  midst  of 
her ;  be  ye  clean,  that  bear  the  vessels  of  the  Lord.    For 


124        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

ye  shall  not  go  out  with  haste,  nor  go  by  flight :  for  the 
Lord  will  go  before  you;  and  the  God  of  Israel  be  your 
rearward. 

Behold,  my  servant  shall  deal  prudently,  he  shall  be 
exalted  and  extolled,  and  be  very  high.  As  many  were 
astonied  at  thee;  his  visage  was  so  marred  more  than 
any  man,  and  his  form  more  than  the  sons  of  men :  so 
shall  he  sprinkle  many  nations ;  the  kings  shall  shut  their 
mouths  at  him:  for  that  which  had  not  been  told  them 
shall  they  see;  and  that  which  they  had  not  heard  shall 
they  consider.  Who  hath  believed  our  report?  and  to 
whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed?  For  he  grew 
up  before  him  as  a  tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of 
a  dry  ground :  he  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness ;  and 
when  we  shall  see  him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should 
desire  him.  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men ;  a  man 
of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief :  and  we  hid  as 
it  were  our  faces  from  him;  he  was  despised,  and  we 
esteemed  him  not. 

Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our  sor- 
rows :  yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God, 
and  afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded  for  our  transgres- 
sions, he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities :  the  chastisement 
of  our  peace  was  upon  him ;  and  with  his  stripes  we  are 
healed.  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray;  we  have 
turned  every  one  to  his  own  way ;  and  the  Lord  hath  laid 
on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all. 

He  was  oppressed,  and  he  was  afflicted,  yet  he  opened 
not  his  mouth :  he  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter, 
and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  openeth 
not  his  mouth.  He  was  taken  from  prison  and  from 
judgment:  and  who  shall  declare  his  generation?  for  he 
was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living:  for  the  trans- 
gression of  my  people  was  he  stricken.  And  they  made 
his  grave  with  the  wicked,  and  with  the  rich  in  his  death ; 
although  he  had  done  no  violence,  neither  was  any  deceit 
in  his  mouth. 

Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him;  he  hath  put 
him  to  grief :  when  thou  shalt  make  his  soul  an  offer- 
ing for  sin,  he  shall  see  his  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days, 


THE    ASSYRIAN    PERIOD  125 

and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his  hand. 
He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satis- 
fied :  by  his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify 
many :  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities.  Therefore  will  I 
divide  him  a  portion  with  the  great,  and  he  shall  divide 
the  spoil  with  the  strong;  because  he  hath  poured  out 
his  soul  unto  death :  and  he  was  numbered  with  the  trans- 
gressors ;  and  he  bare  the  sin  of  many,  and  made  inter- 
cession for  the  transgressors. 

The  opening  words  indicate  a  situation  quite  dif- 
ferent from  the  fear  of  the  Assyrians  with  which  the 
book  began.  The  Golden  Age,  as  it  is  here  foreseen, 
includes  among  its  initial  blessings  the  restoration  of 
the  "waste  places  of  Jerusalem.''  But  in  the  time  of 
Isaiah  there  were  no  waste  places  in  Jerusalem.  The 
holy  city  was  protected  and  delivered,  as  he  said  it 
would  be. 

It  is  evident  from  the  arrangement  of  the  chapters 
that  this  passage  is  in  the  second  volume  of  Isaiah. 
The  first  volume  ends,  like  the  book  of  Jeremiah,  with 
chapters  of  history  taken  from  Kings.  {Is.  36-39 — 
//  Kings  14-20,  as  Jer.  52—11  Kings  24:18-25:21.) 
It  appears,  however,  by  a  comparison  of  the  situation 
in  the  first  volume  (1-39)  with  the  situation  in  the 
second  volume  (40-56)  that  between  the  two  is  a  space 
of  two  hundred  years.  In  /  Isaiah  the  great  enemy  is 
Assyria,  at  first  threatening,  then  destroying  the  north- 
ern kingdom,  then  invading  the  southern  kingdom, 
even  to  the  walls  of  Jerusalem.  In  //  Isaiah  there  is 
no  mention  of  Assyria;  the  Assyrians  have  disap- 
peared in  the  long  past.  Their  place  is  taken  by  the 
Chaldeans,  whose  city  of  Babylon  has  now  become  the 


126        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

capital  of  the  world.  In  the  days  of  King  Hezekiah, 
when  Isaiah  was  in  the  midst  of  his  ministry,  the  Chal- 
deans were  a  subject  people,  under  the  rule  of  Assyria, 
trying  to  persuade  the  Jews  to  join  them  in  rebellion 
(Is.  39).  Now  they  rule  the  nations;  they  have  de- 
stroyed Jerusalem;  they  have  carried  the  Jews  into 
captivity.  Already,  however,  on  the  horizon  appear 
the  Persians  (Is,  45) ;  they  shall  conquer  the  Chal- 
deans ;  and  thus  the  long  exile  shall  be  ended,  and  the 
holy  city  shall  be  rebuilt  and  inhabited.  A  central  pur- 
pose of  /  Isaiah  was  to  declare  that  Jerusalem  should 
not  be  overthrown  by  the  Assyrians.  A  central  purpose 
of  //  IsaiuH  was  to  declare,  two  hundred  years  later, 
that  Jerusalem,  overthrown  by  the  Chaldeans,  should 
again  become  the  city  of  the  Jews.  Both  volumes  bear 
the  name  of  Isaiah  because  the  first  volume  begins 
with  an  account  of  his  ministry,  and  contains  many  of 
his  sermons;  as  two  of  the  historical  books,  for  a  like 
reason,  bear  the  name  of  Samuel. 


IX 


THE   PROPHETS  :  THE   CHALDEAN    PERIOD 

^MOS  and  Hosea,  preaching  in  the  northern  king- 
x\.ciom,  and  Micah  and  Isaiah,  preaching  in  the 
southern  kingdom,  in  the  shadow  of  the  Assyrian  in- 
vasion, were  followed  a  century  later  by  a  second 
group  of  prophets  who  dealt  with  the  conditions  at- 
tending the  invasion  of  Judah  by  the  Chaldeans,  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem  at  their  hands,  and  the  captivity  of 
the  conquered  Jews  in  Babylon. 


Except  the  first  of  the  group,  Zephaniah.  He  was 
moved  to  prophetic  speech  by  the  menace  of  invasion 
not  of  the  Assyrians,  but  of  the  Scythians.  These 
wild  tribes  are  not  named  in  the  book,  but  Herodotus 
says  that  at  that  time  they  came  swarming  from  the 
north,  and  put  all  the  civilization  of  the  world  in  peril. 
That  was  in  Josiah's  day,  the  book  says,  and  evidently 
before  the  reformation  which  Josiah  set  on  foot  after 
the  appearance  of  Deuteronomy.  A  fair  guess  at  a  date 
is  625.  Down  came  the  Scythians,  and  made  their 
fearful  way  along  the  coast  road  through  the  land  of 
the  Philistines  on  their  way  to  invade  Egypt.  Thence 
they  were  turned  back,  probably  by  a  bribe.  Zephaniah 

127 


128        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

expected  that  they  would  destroy  Jerusalem.  It  ought 
to  be  destroyed,  he  thought,  because  of  the  sins  of  the 
evil  and  pagan  reign  of  Manasseh.  He  saw  the  Day 
of  the  Lord  at  hand,  and  described  it  in  phrases  which, 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  were  set  to  the  solemn  music  of 
the  Dies  Irae. 

The  great  day  of  the  Lord  is  near,  it  is  near,  and 
hasteth  greatly,  even  the  voice  of  the  day  of  the  Lord: 
the  mighty  man  shall  cry  there  bitterly.  That  day  is 
a  day  of  wrath,  a  day  of  trouble  and  distress,  a  day  of 
wasteness  and  desolation,  a  day  of  darkness  and  gloomi- 
ness, a  day  of  clouds  and  thick  darkness,  a  day  of  the 
trumpet  and  alarm  against  the  fenced  cities,  and  against 
the  high  towers.  And  I  will  bring  distress  upon  men, 
that  they  shall  walk  like  blind  men,  because  they  have 
sinned  against  the  Lord :  and  their  blood  shall  be  poured 
out  as  dust,  and  their  flesh  as  the  dung.  Neither  their 
silver  nor  their  gold  shall  be  able  to  deliver  them  in  the 
day  of  the  Lord's  wrath ;  but  the  whole  land  shall  be  de- 
voured by  the  fire  of  his  jealousy:  for  he  shall  make 
even  a  speedy  riddance  of  all  them  that  dwell  in  the  land. 


II 


This  peril  passed,  but  the  Day  of  the  Lord  drew 
near  in  the  progress  of  the  Chaldeans.  In  606,  they 
destroyed  Nineveh.  The  book  of  Nahum  was  written 
shortly  before  this  determining  event,  and  the  book  of 
Habakkuk  shortly  after. 

L  Nahum  watched  the  siege  of  Nineveh  with  exul- 
tation. It  meant  for  him  the  downfall  of  that  vast 
power  which  had  desolated  Israel  and  invaded  Judah. 
He  dwelt  with  satisfaction  and  delight  upon  the  details 
of  the  taking  of  the  city. 


THE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  129 

He  that  dashcth  in  pieces  is  come  up  before  thy  face: 
keep  the  munition,  watch  the  way,  make  thy  loins  strong, 
fortify  thy  power  mightily.  For  the  Lord  hath  turned 
away  the  excellency  of  Jacob,  as  the  excellency  of  Israel: 
for  the  emptiers  have  emptied  them  out,  and  marred  their 
vine  branches.  The  shield  of  his  mighty  men  is  made 
red,  the  valiant  men  are  in  scarlet :  the  chariots  shall  be 
with  flaming  torches  in  the  day  of  his  preparation,  and 
the  fir  trees  shall  be  terribly  shaken.  The  chariots  shall 
rage  in  the  streets,  they  shall  jostle  one  against  another 
in  the  broad  ways :  they  shall  seem  like  torches,  they  shall 
run  like  the  lightnings.  He  shall  recount  his  worthies: 
they  shall  stumble  in  their  walk ;  they  shall  make  haste  to 
the  wall  thereof,  and  the  defence  shall  be  prepared.  The 
gates  of  the  rivers  shall  be  opened,  and  the  palace  shall 
be  dissolved.  And  Huzzab  shall  be  led  away  captive,  she 
shall  be  brought  up,  and  her  maids  shall  lead  her  as  w^ith 
the  voice  of  doves,  tabering  upon  their  breasts. 

But  Nineveh  is  of  old  like  a  pool  of  water:  yet  they 
shall  flee  away.  ''Stand,  stand,"  shall  they  cry ;  but  none 
shall  look  back.  Take  ye  the  spoil  of  silver,  take  the 
spoil  of  gold :  for  there  is  none  end  of  the  store  and  glory 
out  of  all  the  pleasant  furniture.  She  is  empty,  and  void, 
and  waste :  and  the  heart  melteth,  and  the  knees  smite 
together,  and  much  pain  is  in  all  loins,  and  the  faces  of 
them  all  gather  blackness. 

Where  is  the  dwelling  of  the  lions,  and  the  feeding- 
place  of  the  young  lions,  where  the  lion,  even  the  old  lion, 
walked,  and  the  lion's  whelp,  and  none  made  them  afraid? 
The  lion  did  tear  in  pieces  enough  for  his  whelps,  and 
strangled  for  his  lionesses,  and  filled  his  holes  with  prey, 
and  his  dens  with  ravin.  Behold,  I  am  against  thee,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  I  will  burn  her  chariots  in  the 
smoke,  and  the  sword  shall  devour  thy  young  lions :  and 
I  will  cut  off  thy  prey  from  the  earth,  and  the  voice  of 
thy  messengers  shall  no  more  be  heard. 

Woe  to  the  bloody  city!  it  is  all  full  of  lies  and  rob- 
bery ;  the  prey  departeth  not.  The  noise  of  a  whip,  and 
the  noise  of  the  rattling  of  the  wheels,  and  of  the  prans- 
ing  horses,  and  of  the  jumping  chariots.    The  horseman 


130        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

lifteth  up  both  the  bright  sword  and  the  ghttering  spear : 
and  a  multitude  of  slain,  and  a  great  number  of  carcases ; 
and  none  end  of  corpses ;  they  stumble  upon  their  corpses. 

2.  To  Habakkuk,  however,  the  fall  of  Nineveh  was 
but  the  beginning  of  new  sorrows.  The  Chaldeans, 
having  destroyed  Nineveh,  came  marching  into  the 
west  against  Judah,  and  the  other  Mediterranean  prov- 
inces. The  prophet  is  grievously  perplexed.  How  can 
this  apparent  indifiference  of  God  be  reconciled  with 
the  divine  love,  or  even  with  the  divine  justice  ?  How 
can  it  be  that  God,  who  very  properly  encourages  the 
destruction  of  the  wicked  city  of  Nineveh,  will  permit 
also  the  destruction  of  the  holy  city  of  Jerusalem.  The 
book  begins  with  a  dialogue  between  the  prophet  and 
the  Lord. 

O  Lord,  [says  the  prophet,]  how  long  shall  I  cry,  and 
thou  wilt  not  hear!  even  cry  out  unto  thee  of  violence, 
and  thou  wilt  not  save!  Why  dost  thou  shew  me  iniq- 
uity, and  cause  me  to  behold  grievance  ?  for  spoiling  and 
violence  are  before  me:  and  there  are  that  raise  up  strife 
and  contention.  Therefore  the  law  is  slacked,  and  judg- 
ment doth  never  go  forth:  for  the  wicked  doth  compass 
about  the  righteous ;  therefore  wrong  judgment  proceed- 
eth. 

Behold  ye  among  the  heathen,  [says  the  Lord,]  and  re- 
gard, and  wonder  marvellously :  for  I  will  work  a  work 
in  your  days,  which  ye  will  not  believe,  though  it  be  told 
you.  For,  lo,  I  raise  up  the  Chaldeans,  that  bitter  and 
hasty  nation,  which  shall  march  through  the  breadth  of 
the  land,  to  possess  the  dwellingplaces  that  are  not  theirs. 
They  are  terrible  and  dreadful :  their  judgment  and  their 
dignity  shall  proceed  from  themselves.  Their  horses  also 
are  swifter  than  the  leopards,  and  are  more  fierce  than 
the  evening  wolves :  and  their  horsemen  shall  spread 
themselves,  and  their  horsemen  shall  come  from   far; 


THE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  131 

they  shall  fly  as  the  eagle  that  hasteth  to  eat.  They  shall 
come  all  for  violence :  their  faces  shall  sup  up  as  the  east 
wind,  and  they  shall  gather  the  captivity  as  the  sand.  And 
they  shall  scoff  at  the  kings,  and  the  princes  shall  be  a 
scorn  unto  them :  they  shall  deride  every  strong  hold  ; 
for  they  shall  heap  dust,  and  take  it.  Then  shall  his  mind 
change,  and  he  shall  pass  over,  and  offend,  even  he  whose 
might  is  his  god. 

But  the  prophet  is  not  satisfied. 

Art  thou  not  from  everlasting,  O  Lord  my  God,  mine 
Holy  One?  we  shall  not  die.  O  Lord,  thou  hast  or- 
dained them  for  judgment;  and,  O  mighty  God,  thou 
hast  established  them  for  correction.  Thou  art  of  purer 
eyes  than  to  behold  evil,  and  canst  not  look  on  iniquity : 
wherefore  lookest  thou  upon  them  that  deal  treacher- 
ously, and  boldest  thy  tongue  when  the  wicked  devour- 
eth  the  man  that  is  more  righteous  than  he?  and  makest 
men  as  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  as  the  creeping  things,  that 
have  no  ruler  over  them  ?  They  take  up  all  of  them  with 
the  angle,  they  catch  them  in  their  net,  and  gather  them 
in  their  drag:  therefore  they  rejoice  and  are  glad.  There- 
fore they  sacrifice  unto  their  net,  and  burn  incense  unto 
their  drag ;  because  by  them  their  portion  is  fat,  and  their 
meat  plenteous.  Shall  they  therefore  empty  their  net, 
and  not  spare  continually  to  slay  the  nations?  I  will 
stand  upon  my  watch,  and  set  me  upon  the  tower,  and 
will  watch  to  see  what  he  will  say  unto  me,  and  what  I 
shall  answer  when  I  am  reproved. 

And  the  Lord  answered  me,  and  said.  Write  the  vision, 
and  make  it  plain  upon  tables,  that  he  may  run  that  read- 
eth  it.  For  the  vision  is  yet  for  an  appointed  time,  but 
at  the  end  it  shall  speak,  and  not  lie :  though  it  tarry,  wait 
for  it ;  because  it  will  surely  come,  it  will  not  tarry.  Be- 
hold, his  soul  which  is  lifted  up  is  not  upright  in  him :  but 
the  just  shall  live  by  his  faith. 

"By  his  faith,"  by  his  faithfulness,  by  the  integrity 
of  his  life.   Everything  that  can  be  plundered  may  be 


132        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

plundered,  and  all  things  that  are  breakable  may  be 
broken.  The  holy  city  may  be  destroyed,  and  the  holy 
people  scattered  abroad.  The  situation  serves  to  reveal 
the  everlasting  value  of  the  things  which  are  eternal. 
There  are  possessions  which  fire  can  not  burn,  nor 
robbers  steal.  It  is  like  the  cartoon  in  Punch  where 
the  German  Emperor  says  to  the  king  of  the  Belgians, 
pointing  to  the  ruined  land,  "You  see,  you  have  lost 
everything."  To  which  the  king  of  the  Belgians  re- 
plies, "Not  my  soul  1" 


III 


In  the  crisis  of  the  inevitable  invasion,  while  Jeru- 
salem was  besieged  and  when  it  fell,  the  mind  of  God 
was  declared  by  two  prophets,  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel. 

1.  Jeremiah  was  first  moved  to  speak  by  the  same 
Scythian  peril  which  had  aroused  Zephaniah.  They 
were  young  men  together.  Zephaniah,  being  a  great- 
great-grandson  of  King  Hezekiah,  was  only  about 
twenty;  and  Jeremiah,  whose  ministry  was  to  extend, 
like  that  of  Isaiah,  over  forty  years,  was  about  the 
same  age.  The  king,  Josiah,  was  only  a  year  or  two 
older.  The  first  six  chapters  of  the  book  of  Jeremiah 
contain  sermons  which  seem  to  have  been  first  preached 
in  the  time  of  the  Scythians,  and  then  altered  a  little 
and  preached  again  in  the  time  of  the  approach  of  the 
Chaldeans. 

Out  of  the  north,  from  the  direction  indicated  by 
the  boiling  kettle,  come  the  fierce  barbarians,  their  bat- 
tle-bows in  their  hands,  riding  on  swift  horses. 


THE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  133 

I  beheld  the  earth,  and,  lo,  it  was  without  form,  and 
void;  and  the  heavens,  and  they  had  no  Hght.  I  beheld 
the  mountains,  and,  lo,  they  trembled,  and  all  the  hills 
moved  to  and  fro.  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  there  was  no  man, 
and  all  the  birds  of  the  heavens  were  fled.  I  beheld, 
and,  lo,  the  fruitful  place  was  a  wilderness,  and  all  the 
cities  thereof  were  broken  down  at  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  and  by  his  fierce  anger.  For  thus  hath  the  Lord 
said.  The  whole  land  shall  be  desolate;  yet  will  I  not 
make  a  full  end.  For  this  shall  the  earth  mourn,  and 
the  heavens  above  be  black :  because  I  have  spoken  it,  I 
have  purposed  it,  and  will  not  repent,  neither  will  I  turn 
back  from  it.  The  whole  city  shall  flee  for  the  noise 
of  the  horsemen  and  bowmen ;  they  shall  go  into  thickets, 
and  climb  up  upon  the  rocks :  every  city  shall  be  for- 
saken, and  not  a  man  dwell  therein. 

Jeremiah  and  Zephaniah  are  agreed  that  this  is  the 
End  of  the  World.  Such  a  despairing  expectation  v^as 
consistent  with  their  youth.  "It  is  currently  said,"  says 
Mr.  Chesterton,  "that  hope  goes  with  youth,  and 
lends  to  youth  its  wings  of  a  butterfly;  but  I  fancy 
that  hope  is  the  last  gift  given  to  man,  and  the  only 
gift  not  given  to  youth.  Youth  is  pre-eminently  the 
period  in  which  a  man  can  be  lyric,  fanatical,  poetic; 
but  youth  is  the  period  in  which  a  man  can  be  hope- 
less. The  end  of  every  episode  is  the  end  of  the  world. 
But  the  power  of  hoping  through  everything,  the 
knowledge  that  the  soul  survives  its  adventures, — that 
great  inspiration  comes  to  the  middle-aged.  God  has 
kept  that  good  wine  until  now." 

The  Scythian  peril  had  hardly  passed,  however, 
when  the  Chaldean  peril  began.  As  the  empire  of 
Assyria,  long  the  master  of  the  world,  began  to  show 
signs  of  weakness,  it  was  attacked  by  two  enemies. 


134        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Out  of  Egypt  came  the  army  of  the  Pharaoh  Necho, 
out  of  Babylonia  came  the  Chaldeans  under  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. As  the  Egyptian  hosts  marched  by,  they  were 
attacked  by  King  Josiah,  in  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon, 
at  Megiddo,  perhaps  in  loyalty  to  his  Assyrian  over- 
lord. Josiah  was  defeated  and  killed,  and  the  high 
hopes  of  the  Hebrews  perished  with  him.  Judah  was 
made  a  vassal  of  Egypt.  The  Chaldeans,  on  their  side, 
destroyed  Nineveh.  In  605,  the  two  contestants  for 
the  throne  of  the  world  met  in  the  decisive  battle  of 
Carchemish,  on  the  upper  Euphrates,  and  the  Chal- 
deans were  victorious.  Judah  was  thus  made  a  vassal 
of  Chaldea.  Jehoiakim,  a  son  of  Josiah,  whom  the 
Egyptians  had  put  upon  the  throne  in  Jerusalem,  was 
confirmed  in  that  position  by  the  Chaldeans.  Then  the 
prophetic  activity  of  Jeremiah  began  again. 

He  had  already  proclaimed  the  indignation  of  God 
against  the  sins  of  the  people.  The  reformation  under 
Josiah  had  not  reformed  them.  Under  the  instruction 
of  Deuteronomy  they  had  indeed  abolished  the  local 
shrines ;  and  centered  the  worship  of  God  in  Jerusalem  ; 
but  this  had  served  to  convince  them  that  Jerusalem, 
containing  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  would  be  safe  from 
all  disaster,  no  matter  what  kind  of  lives  they  lived. 
The  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Jeremiah,  saying : — 

Stand  in  the  gate  of  the  Lord's  house,  and  proclaim 
there  this  word,  and  say,  Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  all 
ye  of  Judah,  that  enter  in  at  these  gates  to  worship  the 
Lord.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel, 
Amend  your  ways  and  your  doings,  and  I  will  cause  you 
to  dwell  in  this  place.  Trust  ye  not  in  lying  words, 
saying:— "The  temple  of  the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the 


THE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  135 

Lord,  The  temple  of  the  Lord  arc  these."  For  if  ye 
thoroughly  amend  your  ways  and  your  doings;  if  ye 
thoroughly  execute  judgment  between  a  man  and  his 
neighbour ;  if  ye  oppress  not  the  stranger,  the  fatherless, 
and  the  widow,  and  shed  not  innocent  blood  in  this  place, 
neither  walk  after  other  gods  to  your  hurt:  then  will 
I  cause  you  to  dwell  in  this  place,  in  the  land  that  I  gave 
to  your  fathers,  for  ever  and  ever.  Behold,  ye  trust 
in  lying  words,  that  cannot  profit.  Will  ye  steal,  mur- 
der, and  commit  adultery,  and  swear  falsely,  and  burn 
incense  unto  Baal,  and  walk  after  other  gods  whom  ye 
know  not ;  and  come  and  stand  before  me  in  this  house, 
which  is  called  by  my  name,  and  say: — "We  are  de- 
livered to  do  all  these  abominations?"  Is  this  house, 
which  is  called  by  my  name,  become  a  den  of  robbers 
in  your  eyes?  Behold,  even  I  have  seen  it,  saith  the 
Lord.  But  go  ye  now  unto  my  place  which  was  in  Shi- 
loh,  where  I  set  my  name  at  the  first,  and  see  what  I  did 
to  it  for  the  wickedness  of  my  people  Israel.  And  now, 
because  ye  have  done  all  these  works,  saith  the  Lord,  and 
I  spake  unto  you,  rising  up  early  and  speaking,  but  ye 
heard  not ;  and  I  called  you,  but  ye  answered  not ;  there- 
fore will  I  do  unto  this  house,  which  is  called  by  my 
name,  wherein  ye  trust,  and  unto  the  place  which  I  gave 
to  you  and  to  your  fathers,  as  I  have  done  to  Shiloh.  And 
I  will  cast  you  out  of  my  sight,  as  I  have  cast  out  all  your 
brethren,  even  the  whole  seed  of  Ephraim. 

These  bold  words  put  the  prophet  in  immediate 
danger  of  death.  Everybody  was  against  him. 

Now  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jeremiah  had  made  an 
end  of  speaking  all  that  the  Lord  had  commanded  him 
to  speak  unto  all  the  people,  that  the  priests  and  the 
prophets  and  all  the  people  took  him,  saying: — *Thou 
shaft  surely  die.  Why  hast  thou  prophesied  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  saying.  This  house  shall  be  like  Shiloh,  and 
this  city  shall  be  desolate  without  an  inhabitant?"  And 
all  the  people  were  gathered  against  Jeremiah  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord.    When  the  princes  of  Judah  heard 


136        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

these  things,  then  they  came  up  from  the  king's  house 
unto  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  sat  down  in  the  entry 
of  the  new  gate  of  the  Lord's  house.  Then  spake  the 
priests  and  the  prophets  unto  the  princes  and  to  all  the 
people,  saying : — 'This  man  is  worthy  to  die ;  for  he  hath 
prophesied  against  this  city,  as  ye  have  heard  with  your 
ears."  Then  spake  Jeremiah  unto  all  the  princes  and  to 
all  the  people,  saying: — 'The  Lord  sent  me  to  prophesy 
against  this  house  and  against  this  city  all  the  words 
that  ye  have  heard.  Therefore  now  amend  your  ways 
and  your  doings,  and  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  your 
God;  and  the  Lord  will  repent  him  of  the  evil  that  he 
hath  pronounced  against  you.  As  for  me,  behold,  I  am  in 
your  hand :  do  with  me  as  seemeth  good  and  meet  unto 
you.  But  know  ye  for  certain,  that  if  ye  put  me  to  death, 
ye  shall  surely  bring  innocent  blood  upon  yourselves,  and 
upon  this  city,  and  upon  the  inhabitants  thereof :  for  of  a 
truth  the  Lord  hath  sent  me  unto  you  to  speak  all  these 
words  in  your  ears."  Then  said  the  princes  and  all  the 
people  unto  the  priests  and  to  the  prophets : — 'This  man 
is  not  worthy  to  die :  for  he  hath  spoken  to  us  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  our  God." 

Then  rose  up  certain  of  the  elders  of  the  land,  and 
spake  to  all  the  assem.bly  of  the  people,  saying : — "Micah 
the  Morasthite  prophesied  in  the  days  of  Hezekiah  king 
of  Judah,  and  spake  to  all  the  people  of  Judah,  saying. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  Zion  shall  be  plowed  like 
a  field,  and  Jerusalem  shall  become  heaps,  and  the  moun- 
tain of  the  house  as  the  high  places  of  a  forest.  Did 
Hezekiah  king  of  Judah  and  all  Judah  put  him  at  all  to 
death  ?  did  he  not  fear  the  Lord,  and  besought  the  Lord, 
and  the  Lord  repented  him  of  the  evil  which  he  had 
pronounced  against  them?  Thus  might  we  procure  great 
evil  against  our  souls." 

And  there  was  also  a  man  that  prophesied  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  Urijah  the  son  of  Shemaiah  of  Kirjath- 
jearim,  who  prophesied  against  this  city  and  against 
this  land  according  to  all  the  words  of  Jeremiah ;  and 
when  Jehoiakim  the  king,  with  all  his  mighty  men,  and 
all  the  princes,  heard  his  words,  the  king  sought  to  put 


JHE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  137 

him  to  death:  but  when  Urijah  heard  it,  he  was  afraid, 
and  fled,  and  went  into  Egypt.  And  Jehoiakim  the  king 
sent  men  into  Egypt,  namely,  Elnathan  the  son  of  Ach- 
bor,  and  certain  men  with  him  into  Egypt.  And  they 
fetched  forth  Urijah  out  of  Egypt,  and  brought  him 
unto  Jehoiakim  the  king ;  who  slew  him  with  the  sword, 
and  cast  his  dead  body  into  the  graves  of  the  common 
people.  Nevertheless  the  hand  of  Ahikam  the  son  of 
Shaphan  was  with  Jeremiah,  that  they  should  not  give 
him  into  the  hand  of  the  people  to  put  him  to  death. 


Jeremiah  had  spoken  with  like  boldness  against  the 
king.  Jehoiakim,  though  the  land  groaned  under  the 
taxes  which  he  levied  upon  it  to  meet  the  demands  of 
his  foreign  masters,  was  building  himself  a  splendid 
palace. 


Woe  unto  him  that  buildeth  his  house  by  unrighteous- 
ness, and  his  chambers  by  wrong;  that  useth  his  neigh- 
bour's service  without  wages,  and  giveth  him  not  for  his 
work;  that  saith: — "I  will  build  me  a  wide  house  and 
large  chambers,"  and  cutteth  him  out  windows;  and  it 
is  ceiled  with  cedar,  and  painted  with  vermilion.  Shalt 
thou  reign,  because  thou  closest  thyself  in  cedar?  did 
not  thy  father  eat  and  drink,  and  do  judgment  and  jus- 
tice, and  then  it  was  well  with  him?  He  judged  the 
cause  of  the  poor  and  needy ;  then  it  was  well  with  him ; 
was  not  this  to  know  me?  saith  the  Lord.  But  thine 
eyes  and  thine  heart  are  not  but  for  thy  covetousness, 
and  for  to  shed  innocent  blood,  and  for  oppression,  and 
for  violence,  to  do  it.  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord 
concerning  Jehoiakim  the  son  of  Josiah  king  of  Judah; 
They  shall  not  lament  for  him,  saying: — "Ah  my 
brother !"  or,  *  Ah  sister !"  they  shall  not  lament  for  him, 
saying:— "Ah  lord!''  or,  "Ah  his  glory!"  He  shall  be 
buried  with  the  burial  of  an  ass,  drawn  and  cast  forth 
beyond  the  gates  of  Jerusalem. 


138        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Then  came  an  incident  the  account  of  which  is  not 
only  a  record  of  the  contention  between  the  prophet 
and  the  king  but  a  disclosure  of  Jeremiah's  book  in  the 
very  process  of  making.  Here  is  a  prophet  in  the  act 
of  committing  his  words  to  writing. 

And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim 
the  son  of  Josiah  king  of  Judah,  that  this  word  came 
unto  Jeremiah  from  the  Lord,  saying,  "Take  thee  a  roll 
of  a  book,  and  write  therein  all  the  words  that  I  have 
spoken  unto  thee  against  Israel,  and  against  Judah,  and 
against  all  the  nations,  from  the  day  I  spake  unto  thee, 
from  the  days  of  Josiah,  even  unto  this  day.  It  may  be 
that  the  house  of  Judah  will  hear  all  the  evil  which  I  pur- 
pose to  do  unto  them;  that  they  may  return  every  man 
from  his  evil  way;  that  I  may  forgive  their  iniquity  and 
their  sin." 

Then  Jeremiah  called  Baruch  the  son  of  Neriah:  and 
Baruch  wrote  from  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah  all  the  words 
of  the  Lord,  which  he  had  spoken  unto  him,  upon  a  roll 
of  a  book.  And  Jeremiah  commanded  Baruch,  saying : — 
"I  am  shut  up ;  I  cannot  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord : 
therefore  go  thou,  and  read  in  the  roll,  which  thou  hast 
written  from  my  mouth,  the  words  of  the  Lord  in  the 
ears  of  the  people  in  the  Lord's  house  upon  the  fasting 
day:  and  also  thou  shalt  read  them  in  the  ears  of  all 
Judah  that  come  out  of  their  cities.  It  may  be  they  will 
present  their  supplication  before  the  Lord,  and  will  re- 
turn every  one  from  his  evil  way :  for  great  is  the  anger 
and  the  fury  that  the  Lord  hath  pronounced  against  this 
people."  And  Baruch  the  son  of  Neriah  did  according 
to  all  that  Jeremiah  the  prophet  commanded  him,  reading 
in  the  book  the  words  of  the  Lord  in  the  Lord's  house. 

And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  fifth  year  of  Jehoiakim  the 
son  of  Josiah  king  of  Judah,  in  the  ninth  month,  that 
they  proclaimed  a  fast  before  the  Lord  to  all  the  people 
in  Jerusalem,  and  to  all  the  people  that  came  from  the 
cities  of  Judah  unto  Jerusalem.  Then  read  Baruch  in 
the  book  the  words  of  Jeremiah  in  the  house  of  the  Lord, 


JHE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  139 

in  the  chamber  of  Gemariah  the  son  of  Shaphan  the 
scribe,  in  the  higher  court,  at  the  entry  of  the  new  gate 
of  the  Lord's  house,  in  the  ears  of  all  the  people.  And 
when  Micaiah  the  son  of  Gemariah,  the  son  of  Shaphan, 
had  heard  out  of  the  book  all  the  words  of  the  Lord,  then 
he  went  down  into  the  king's  house,  into  the  scribe's 
chamber :  and,  lo,  all  the  princes  sat  there,  even  Elishama 
the  scribe,  and  Delaiah  the  son  of  Shemaiah,  and  Elna- 
than  the  son  of  Achbor,  and  Gemariah  the  son  of 
Shaphan,  and  Zedekiah  the  son  of  Hananiah,  and  all 
the  princes.  Then  Micaiah  declared  unto  them  all  the 
words  that  he  had  heard,  when  Baruch  read  the  book  in 
the  ears  of  the  people.  Therefore  all  the  princes  sent 
Jehudi  the  son  of  Nethaniah,  the  son  of  Shelemiah,  the 
son  of  Cushi,  unto  Baruch,  saying: — "Take  in  thine 
hand  the  roll  wherein  thou  hast  read  in  the  ears  of  the 
people,  and  come."  So  Baruch  the  son  of  Neriah  took 
the  roll  in  his  hand,  and  came  unto  them.  And  they  said 
unto  him: — "Sit  down  now,  and  read  it  in  our  ears." 
So  Baruch  read  it  in  their  ears.  Now  it  came  to  pass, 
when  they  had  heard  all  the  words,  they  were  afraid 
both  one  and  other,  and  said  unto  Baruch : — "We  will 
surely  tell  the  king  of  all  these  words."  And  they  asked 
Baruch,  saying: — "Tell  us  now.  How  didst  thou  write 
all  these  words  at  his  mouth?"  Then  Baruch  answered 
them: — "He  pronounced  all  these  words  unto  me  with 
his  mouth,  and  I  wrote  them  with  ink  in  the  book."  Then 
said  the  princes  unto  Baruch : — "Go,  hide  thee,  thou  and 
Jeremiah ;  and  let  no  man  know  where  ye  be."  And  they 
went  in  to  the  king  into  the  court,  but  they  laid  up  the 
roll  in  the  chamber  of  Elishama  the  scribe,  and  told  all 
the  words  in  the  ears  of  the  king. 

So  the  king  sent  Jehudi  to  fetch  the  roll :  and  he  took 
it  out  of  Elishama  the  scribe's  chamber.  And  Jehudi 
read  it  in  the  ears  of  the  king,  and  in  the  ears  of  all  the 
princes  which  stood  beside  the  king.  Now  the  king  sat  in 
the  winterhouse  in  the  ninth  month :  and  there  was  a  fire 
on  the  hearth  burning  before  him.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
that  when  Jehudi  had  read  three  or  four  leaves,  he  cut 
it  with  the  penknife,  and  cast  it  into  the  fire  that  was  on 


140        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

the  hearth,  until  all  the  roll  was  consumed  in  the  fire 
that  was  on  the  hearth.  Yet  they  were  not  afraid,  nor 
rent  their  garments,  neither  the  king,  nor  any  of  his 
servants  that  heard  all  these  words.  Nevertheless  Elna- 
than  and  Delaiah  and  Gemariah  had  made  intercession 
to  the  king  that  he  would  not  burn  the  roll :  but  he  would 
not  hear  them.  But  the  king  commanded  Jerahmeel  the 
son  of  Hammelech,  and  Seraiah  the  son  of  Azriel,  and 
Shelemiah  the  son  of  Abdeel,  to  take  Baruch  the  scribe 
and  Jeremiah  the  prophet :  but  the  Lord  hid  them. 

Then  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Jeremiah,  after 
that  the  king  had  burned  the  roll,  and  the  words  which 
Baruch  wrote  at  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah,  saying.  Take 
thee  again  another  roll,  and  write  in  it  all  the  former 
words  that  were  in  the  first  roll,  which  Jehoiakim  the 
king  of  Judah  hath  burned.  And  thou  shalt  say  to  Jehoi- 
akim king  of  Judah,  Thus  saith  the  Lord;  Thou  hast 
burned  this  roll,  saying: — "Why  hast  thou  written 
therein,  saying,  The  king  of  Babylon  shall  certainly  come 
and  destroy  this  land,  and  shall  cause  to  cease  from 
thence  man  and  beast?"  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord 
of  Jehoiakim  king  of  Judah;  He  shall  have  none  to  sit 
upon  the  throne  of  David :  and  his  dead  body  shall  be 
cast  out  in  the  day  to  the  heat,  and  in  the  night  to  the 
frost.  And  I  will  punish  him  and  his  seed  and  his  serv- 
ants for  their  iniquity;  and  I  will  bring  upon  them,  and 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  upon  the  men 
of  Judah,  all  the  evil  that  I  have  pronounced  against 
theni ;  but  they  hearkened  not. 

Then  took  Jeremiah  another  roll,  and  gave  it  to  Baruch 
the  scribe,  the  son  of  Neriah;  who  wrote  therein  from 
the  mouth  of  Jeremiah  all  the  words  of  the  book  which 
Jehoiakim  king  of  Judah  had  burned  in  the  fire:  and 
there  were  added  besides  unto  them  many  like  words. 

The  first  half  of  Jeremiah  (1-25)  was  thus,  in  great 
part,  written.  It  consists  of  prophecies,  with  autobi- 
ographical notes.  The  second  half  is  for  the  most 
part  a  biography  of  Jeremiah,  perhaps  written  by  his 


THE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  141 

secretary  Baruch,  and  giving  his  experiences  and  ac- 
tivities during  the  siege  and  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and 
after. 

Jeremiah  declared  that  the  Chaldeans  would  cer- 
tainly take  the  city,  and  advised  surrender  before  it 
was  too  late. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel;  Behold,  I  will 
turn  back  the  weapons  of  war  that  are  in  your  hands, 
wherewith  ye  fight  against  the  king  of  Babylon,  and 
against  the  Chaldeans,  which  besiege  you  without  the 
walls,  and  I  will  assemble  them  into  the  midst  of  this 
city.  And  I  myself  will  fight  against  you  with  an  out- 
stretched hand  and  with  a  strong  arm,  even  in  anger, 
and  in  fury,  and  in  great  wrath.  And  I  will  smite  the 
inhabitants  of  this  city,  both  man  and  beast:  they  shall 
die  of  a  great  pestilence.  And  afterward,  saith  the  Lord, 
I  will  deliver  Zedekiah  king  of  Judah,  and  his  servants, 
and  the  people,  and  such  as  are  left  in  this  city  from  the 
pestilence,  from  the  sword,  and  from  the  famine,  into 
the  hand  of  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon,  and  into 
the  hand  of  their  enemies,  and  into  the  hand  of  those  that 
seek  their  life :  and  he  shall  smite  them  with  the  edge 
of  the  sword ;  he  shall  not  spare  them,  neither  have  pity, 
nor  have  mercy. 

And  unto  this  people  thou  shalt  say.  Thus  saith  the 
Lord;  Behold,  I  set  before  you  the  way  of  life,  and  the 
way  of  death.  He  that  abideth  in  this  city  shall  die  by 
the  sword,  and  by  the  famine,  and  by  the  pestilence: 
but  he  that  goeth  out,  and  falleth  to  the  Chaldeans  that 
besiege  you,  he  shall  live,  and  his  life  shall  be  unto  him 
for  a  prey.  For  I  have  set  my  face  against  this  city  for 
evil,  and  not  for  good,  saith  the  Lord :  it  shall  be  given 
into  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  he  shall  burn  it 
with  fire. 

Such  advice  was  held  by  the  king's  counselors  as  to 
be  nothing  less  than  treason.    The  prophet  was  ar- 


142        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

rested;  he  was  thrust  down  into  an  empty  well,  from 
which  he  was  rescued  by  the  help  of  a  friendly  negro: 
he  was  put  in  prison.  The  king,  meanwhile,  was  of 
two  minds  between  surrender  to  the  Chaldeans  and  a 
hope  of  aid  from  Egypt.  Then  the  siege  reached  its 
crisis;  the  king,  trying  to  escape,  was  caught  by  the 
enemy,  and  with  his  eyes  put  out,  was  carried  a  cap- 
tive to  Babylon.  In  the  general  deportation  of  the 
people,  Jeremiah  was  permitted  to  remain  in  Jerusa- 
lem. When,  presently,  the  governor  appointed  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  was  assassinated,  the  Jews  who  had 
been  left  in  the  city  fled  to  Egypt,  against  the  advice 
of  Jeremiah,  taking  him  with  them. 

Thus  there  went  out  of  sight  a  man  who  exercised 
his  long  ministry  under  conditions  of  unfailing  and 
increasing  unpopularity.  He  deplored  and  lamented  it, 
and  desired  that  he  might  die. 

O  Lord,  thou  hast  deceived  me,  and  I  am  deceived: 
thou  art  stronger  than  I,  and  hast  prevailed:  I  am  in 
derision  daily,  every  one  mocketh  me.  For  as  often  as 
I  speak  I  cry  out ;  I  cry : — ''violence  and  spoil ;"  because 
the  word  of  the  Lord  is  made  a  reproach  unto  me,  and 
a  derision,  daily.  And  if  I  say: — *T  will  not  make 
mention  of  him,  nor  speak  any  more  in  his  name,"  then 
his  word  is  in  mine  heart  as  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in 
my  bones,  and  I  am  weary  with  forbearing,  and  I  can- 
not stay.  For  I  hear  the  defaming  of  many,  fear  on 
every  side.  ''Report,"  say  they,  "and  we  will  report  it." 
All  my  familiars  watch  for  my*  halting,  saying : — "Per- 
adventure  he  will  be  enticed,  and  we  shall  prevail  against 
him,  and  we  shall  take  our  revenge  on  him."  But  the 
Lord  is  with  me  as  a  mighty  terrible  one :  therefore  my 
persecutors  shall  stumble,  and  they  shall  not  prevail: 


THE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  143 

they  shall  be  greatly  ashamed;  for  they  shall  not  pros- 
per: their  everlasting  confusion  shall  never  be  forgot- 
ten. But,  O  Lord  of  hosts,  that  triest  the  righteous,  and 
seest  the  reins  and  the  heart,  let  me  see  thy  vengeance 
on  them:  for  unto  thee  have  I  opened  my  cause.  Sing 
unto  the  Lord,  praise  ye  the  Lord :  for  he  hath  delivered 
the  soul  of  the  poor  from  the  hand  of  evildoers. 

Cursed  be  the  day  wherein  I  was  born :  let  not  the  day 
wherein  my  mother  bare  me  be  blessed.  Cursed  be  the 
man  who  brought  tidings  to  my  father,  saying: — "A 
man  child  is  born  unto  thee;"  making  him  very  glad. 
And  let  that  man  be  as  the  cities  which  the  Lord  over- 
threw, and  repented  not :  and  let  him  hear  the  cry  in  the 
morning,  and  the  shouting  at  noontide ;  because  he  slew 
me  not  from  the  womb;  or  that  my  mother  might  have 
been  my  grave,  and  her  womb  to  be  always  great  with 
me.  Wherefore  came  I  forth  out  of  the  womb  to  see 
labour  and  sorrow,  that  my  days  should  be  consumed 
with  shame? 

Nevertheless  he  continued  to  do  that  which  he  believed 
to  be  right,  and  to  say  that  which  he  believed  to  be 
true,  though  thereby  he  stood  alone  against  all  men. 
He  fulfilled  to  the  end,  in  the  face  of  persecution  and 
the  peril  of  his  life,  the  word  of  the  Lord  which  he 
heard  at  the  beginning : — 

Thou  therefore  gird  up  thy  loins  and  arise,  and  speak 
unto  them  all  that  I  command  thee :  be  not  dismayed  at 
their  faces,  lest  I  confound  thee  before  them.  For,  be- 
hold, I  have  made  thee  this  day  a  defenced  city,  and  an 
iron  pillar,  and  brasen  walls  against  the  whole  land, 
against  the  kings  of  Judah,  against  the  princes  thereof, 
against  the  priests  thereof,  and  against  the  people  of  the 
land.  And  they  shall  fight  against  thee ;  but  they  shall 
not  prevail  against  thee;  for  I  am  with  thee,  saith  the 
Lord,  to  deliver  thee. 


144        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

IV 

1.  As  the  holy  city  falls,  and  the  people  are  carried 
into  exile  in  Babylon,  there  is  heard  for  one  moment 
the  indignant  voice  of  the  prophet  Obadiah.  He  cries 
out  against  Edom,  because  in  the  day  of  the  distress 
of  Judah  these  sons  of  Esau  rejoiced. 

For  thy  violence  against  thy  brother  Jacob  shame  shall 
cover  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  cut  off  for  ever.  In  the 
day  that  thou  stoodest  on  the  other  side,  in  the  day  that 
the  strangers  carried  away  captive  his  forces,  and  for- 
eigners entered  into  his  gates,  and  cast  lots  upon  Jerusa- 
lem, even  thou  wast  as  one  of  them.  But  thou  shouldest 
not  have  looked  on  the  day  of  thy  brother  in  the  day  that 
he  became  a  stranger;  neither  shouldest  thou  have  re- 
joiced over  the  children  of  Judah  in  the  day  of  their  de- 
struction; neither  shouldest  thou  have  spoken  proudly 
in  the  day  of  distress.  Thou  shouldest  not  have  entered 
into  the  gate  of  my  people  in  the  day  of  their  calamity ; 
yea,  thou  shouldest  not  have  looked  on  their  affliction 
in  the  day  of  their  calamity,  nor  have  laid  hands  on  their 
substance  in  the  day  of  their  calamity ;  neither  shouldest 
thou  have  stood  in  the  crossway,  to  cut  off  those  of  his 
that  did  escape ;  neither  shouldest  thou  have  delivered  up 
those  of  his  that  did  remain  in  the  day  of  distress.  For 
the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near  upon  all  the  heathen :  as  thou 
hast  done,  it  shall  be  done  unto  thee :  thy  reward  shall  re- 
turn upon  thine  own  head. 

2.  Meanwhile,  from  afar,  in  Babylon,  the  progress 
of  this  tragedy  was  watched  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel. 
He  had  been  carried  into  captivity  ten  years  before 
the  final  deportation,  when  the  Chaldeans,  invading 
Judah  but  sparing  Jerusalem,  had  deported  most  of  the 
men  of  health  and  rank  and  ability.  He  was  both  a 
prophet  and  a  priest. 


THE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  145 

At  first  Ezeklel  directed  his  ministry  against  the 
expectation  of  a  speedy  return.  His  fellow  exiles  were 
confident  that  Jerusalem  could  not  be  destroyed,  and 
were  certain  that  by  some  change  of  fortune  the  Lord 
would  bring  them  back.  They  believed  that  God  him- 
self was  dependent  upon  the  continued  existence  of 
the  holy  city.  They  thought  of  him  as  a  god  of  the 
land,  dwelling  in  the  temple.  The  conquest  of  the  land 
and  the  destruction  of  the  temple  they  accounted  im- 
possible, for  this  w^ould  leave  God  without  a  habita- 
tion. 

The  first  part  of  Ezekiel  (1-24)  is  occupied  with 
the  declaration,  in  sermons  and  in  symbols,  that  Jeru- 
salem would  certainly  be  destroyed,  and  that  it  ought 
to  be  destroyed.  But  when  that  happened,  and  the  peo- 
ple in  consequence  fall  from  delusion  to  despair,  the 
message  of  the  prophet  changed,  and  having  prophe- 
sied the  ruin  of  the  city  he  now  prophesied  its  restora- 
tion. After  a  series  of  oracles  concerning  foreign 
nations  (25-32)  such  as  had  already  appeared  in  Isaiah 
(13-23)  and  Jeremiah  (46-51),  the  remainder  of  the 
book  (33-48)  is  occupied  w^ith  promises  of  deliver- 
ance, and  with  plans  for  the  rearrangement  of  the 
restored  land,  and  the  administration  of  the  restored 
community. 

The  impossible  shall  happen,  says  the  prophet.  Out 
of  this  national  disaster  and  apparent  death  of  hope, 
shall  come  new  life. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  In  the  day  that  I  shall  have 
cleansed  you  from  all  your  iniquities  I  will  also  cause 
you  to  dwell  in  the  cities,  and  the  wastes  shall  be  builded. 


146        HOW    TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

And  the  desolate  kind  shall  be  tilled,  whereas  it  lay  deso- 
late in  the  sight  of  all  that  passed  by.  And  they  shall 
say: — 'This  land  that  was  desolate  is  become  like  the 
garden  of  Eden ;  and  the  waste  and  desolate  and  ruined 
cities  are  become  fenced,  and  are  inhabited."  Then  the 
heathen  that  are  left  round  about  you  shall  know  that  I 
the  Lord  build  the  ruined  places,  and  plant  that  that  was 
desolate :  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it,  and  I  will  do  it. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  I  will  yet  for  this  be  en- 
quired of  by  the  house  of  Israel,  to  do  it  for  them:  I 
will  increase  them  with  men  like  a  flock.  As  the  holy 
flock,  as  the  flock  of  Jerusalem  in  her  solemn  feasts; 
so  shall  the  waste  cities  be  filled  with  flocks  of  men :  and 
they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

The  hand  of  the  Lord  was  upon  me,  and  carried  me 
out  in  the  spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  set  me  down  in  the 
midst  of  the  valley  which  was  full  of  bones,  and  caused 
me  to  pass  by  them  round  about :  and,  behold,  there  were 
very  many  in  the  open  valley;  and,  lo,  they  were  very 
dry.  And  he  said  unto  me: — "Son  of  man,  can  these 
bones  Hve?"  And  I  answered: — "O  Lord  God,  thou 
knowest."  Again  he  said  unto  me: — "Prophesy  upon 
these  bones,  and  say  unto  them,  O  ye  dry  bones,  hear 
the  word  of  the  Lord.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  unto 
these  bones ;  Behold,  I  will  cause  breath  to  enter  into  you, 
and  3^e  shall  live :  and  I  will  lay  sinews  upon  you,  and  will 
bring  up  flesh  upon  you,  and  cover  you  with  skin,  and 
put  breath  in  you,  and  ye  shall  live ;  and  ye  shall  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord."  So  I  prophesied  as  I  was  com- 
manded :  and  as  I  prophesied,  there  was  a  noise,  and  be- 
hold a  shaking,  and  the  bones  came  together,  bone  to  his 
bone.  And  when  I  beheld,  lo,  the  sinews  and  the  flesh 
came  upon  them,  and  the  skin  covered  them  above:  but 
there  was  no  breath  in  them.  Then  said  he  unto  me: — 
"Prophesy  unto  the  wind,  prophesy,  son  of  man,  and  say 
to  the  wind,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Come  from  the 
four  winds,  O  breath,  and  breathe  upon  these  slain,  that 
they  may  live."  So  I  prophesied  as  he  commanded 
me,  and  the  breath  came  into  them,  and  they  lived,  and 
stood  up  upon  their  feet,  an  exceeding  great  army.    Then 


THE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  147 

he  said  unto  me: — "Son  of  man,  these  bones  are  the 
whole  house  of  Israel:  behold,  they  say,  Our  bones 
are  dried,  and  our  hope  is  lost:  we  are  clean  cut  off. 
Therefore  prophesy  and  say  unto  them.  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  God;  Behold,  O  my  people,  I  will  open  your 
graves,  and  cause  you  to  come  up  out  of  your  graves, 
and  bring  you  into  the  land  of  Israel.  And  ye  shall  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  have  opened  your  graves,  O 
my  people,  and  brought  you  up  out  of  your  graves.  And 
shall  put  my  spirit  in  you,  and  ye  shall  live,  and  I  shall 
place  you  in  your  own  land :  then  shall  ye  know  that  I  the 
Lord  have  spoken  it,  and  performed  it,  saith  the  Lord." 

There  shall  be  one  last  war  of  the  heathen  against 
the  holy  people.  Gog  shall  come  from  Magog  with 
"horses  and  horsemen,  all  of  them  clothed  with  all 
sorts  of  armor,  even  a  great  company  with  bucklers 
and  shields,  all  of  them  handling  swords."  But  the 
Lord  shall  fight  against  them  with  "an  overflowing 
rain,  and  great  hailstones,  fire  and  brimstone,"  and 
the  bows  and  arrows  of  the  defeated  invaders  shall 
serve  the  people  for  firewood  seven  years.  "They  that 
dwell  in  the  cities  of  Israel  shall  go  forth,  and  shall 
set  on  fire  and  burn  the  weapons,  both  the  shields  and 
the  bucklers,  the  bows  and  the  arrows,  and  the  hand- 
staves  and  the  spears,  and  they  shall  burn  them  with 
fire  seven  years :  so  that  they  shall  take  no  wood  out 
of  the  field,  neither  cut  dow^n  any  out  of  the  forests; 
for  they  shall  bum  the  weapons  with  fire :  and  they 
shall  spoil  those  that  spoiled  them,  and  rob  those  that 
robbed  them,  saith  the  Lord"  (39). 

The  prophet  saw  in  another  vision  the  Lord  in  his 
wheeled  throne  returning  to  his  holy  temple  (43). 


148        HOW    TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Afterward  he  brought  me  to  the  gate,  even  the  gate 
that  looketh  toward  the  east:  and,  behold,  the  glory  of 
the  God  of  Israel  came  from  the  way  of  the  east:  and 
his  voice  was  like  a  noise  of  many  waters :  and  the  earth 
shined  with  his  glory.  And  it  was  according  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  vision  which  I  saw,  even  according  to  the 
vision  that  I  saw  when  I  came  to  destroy  the  city:  and 
the  visions  were  like  the  vision  that  I  saw  by  the  river 
Chebar ;  and  I  fell  vipon  my  face.  And  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  came  into  the  house  by  the  way  of  the  gate  whose 
prospect  is  toward  the  east.  So  the  spirit  took  me  up, 
and  brought  me  into  the  inner  court;  and,  behold,  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  house. 

Ezekiel  so  repeated  and  elaborated  the  metaphor  of 
Hosea,  which  described  unfaithfulness  to  God  in  terms 
of  adultery,  that  some  of  his  chapters  are  unpleasant 
and  repellent  reading.  His  suggestions  of  new  canons 
and  rubrics  for  the  conduct  of  worship  in  the  restored 
temple  are  as  remote  from  our  present  interest  as  the 
book  of  Leviticus;  the  spirit  and  manner  of  which  are 
so  akin  to  the  style  and  mind  of  Ezekiel  as  to  suggest 
the  doubtful  theory  that  he  was  its  author.  But  the 
importance  of  the  priest-prophet  in  the  history  of  re- 
ligion is  very  great.  He  it  was,  with  like-minded  per- 
sons who  gathered  about  him,  who  when  the  Jewish 
people  ceased  to  be  a  nation  transformed  them  into  a 
church.  It  was  Ezekiel  who  led  them  out  of  destruc- 
tion into  that  marvelously  continuing  life  which  they 
have  since  lived  to  this  day,  a  people  without  political 
independence,  then  without  a  country,  maintaining  in 
the  face  of  oppression  and  persecution  their  race  and 
their  religion. 

3.    The  supreme  consolation  of  the  people  of  the 


THE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  149 

exile  is  contained  in  //  Isaiah.  The  closing  chapters 
(56-66)  seem  to  be  addressed  to  those  who  having  re- 
turned from  their  captivity  are  enduring  the  hardships 
of  poverty  and  misrule  in  their  own  land;  but  earlier 
chapters  (40-55)  are  filled  with  assurances  of  release. 
The  Chaldeans  are  already  beset  by  the  enemies  who 
eventually  conquered  them :  Cyrus,  who  took  Babylon 
in  538,  is  hailed  as  the  coming  deliverer  of  the  Jews. 
The  prophet,  whose  eloquence  is  as  lofty  as  his  faith, 
declares  that  the  long  and  bitter  punishment  of  the 
exile  is  almost  ended. 

Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your  God. 
Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem,  and  cry  unto  her, 
that  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that  her  iniquity  is 
pardoned :  for  she  hath  received  of  the  Lord's  hand 
double  for  all  her  sins. 

The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  In  the  wilderness : — "Pre- 
pare ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert 
a  highway  for  our  God."  Every  valley  shall  be  exalted, 
and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made  low :  and  the 
crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough  places 
plain :  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all 
flesh  shall  see  it  together:  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it.  The  voice  said  : — *'Cry."  And  he  said  : — 
"What  shall  I  cry  ?"  All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodli- 
ness  thereof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field :  the  grass  wither- 
eth,  the  flower  fadeth:  because  the  spirit  of  the  Lord 
bloweth  upon  it :  surely  the  people  is  grass.  The  grass 
withereth,  the  flower  fadeth:  but  the  word  of  our  God 
shall  stand  for  ever. 

O  Zion,  that  bringest  good  tidings,  get  thee  up  into 
the  high  mountain ;  O  Jerusalem,  that  bringest  good  tid- 
ings, lift  up  thy  voice  with  strength;  lift  it  up,  be  not 
afraid;  say  unto  the  cities  of  Judah : — "Behold  your 
God!"  Behold,  the  Lord  God  will  come  with  strong 
hand,  and  his  arm  shall  rule  for  him:  behold,  his  wage 


150        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

is  with  him,  and  his  recompence  before  him.  He  shall 
feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd :  he  shall  gather  the  lambs 
with  his  arm,  and  carry  them  in  his  bosom,  and  shall 
gently  lead  those  that  are  with  young. 

Awake,  awake,  stand  up,  O  Jerusalem,  which  hast 
drunk  at  the  hand  of  the  Lord  the  cup  of  his  fury ;  thou 
hast  drunken  the  dregs  of  the  cup  of  trembling,  and 
wrung  them  out.  There  is  none  to  guide  her  among  all 
the  sons  whom  she  hath  brought  forth;  neither  is  there 
any  that  taketh  her  by  the  hand  of  all  the  sons  that  she 
hath  brought  up.  These  two  things  are  come  unto  thee ; 
who  shall  be  sorry  for  thee  ?  desolation,  and  destruction, 
and  the  famine,  and  the  sword :  by  whom  shall  I  comfort 
thee?  Thy  sons  have  fainted,  they  lie  at  the  head  of  all 
the  streets,  as  a  wild  bull  in  a  net :  they  are  full  of  the 
fury  of  the  Lord,  the  rebuke  of  thy  God.  Therefore 
hear  now  this,  thou  afflicted,  and  drunken,  but  not  with 
wine:  thus  saith  thy  Lord  the  Lord,  and  thy  God  that 
pleadeth  the  cause  of  his  people : — "Behold,  I  have  taken 
out  of  thine  hand  the  cup  of  trembling,  even  the  dregs 
of  the  cup  of  my  fury ;  thou  shalt  no  more  drink  it  again : 
but  I  will  put  it  into  the  hand  of  them  that  afflict  thee; 
which  have  said  to  thy  soul,  Bow  down,  that  we  may  go 
over :  and  thou  hast  laid  thy  body  as  the  ground,  and  as 
the  street,  to  them  that  went  over." 

Awake,  awake;  put  on  thy  strength,  O  Zion;  put  on 
thy  beautiful  garments,  O  Jerusalem,  the  holy  city:  for 
henceforth  there  shall  no  more  come  into  thee  the  uncir- 
cumcised  and  the  unclean.  Shake  thyself  from  the  dust ; 
arise,  and  sit  down,  O  Jerusalem :  loose  thyself  from  the 
bands  of  thy  neck,  O  captive  daughter  of  Zion. 

How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him 
that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace;  that 
bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that  publisheth  salva- 
tion; that  saith  unto  Zion: — "Thy  God  reigneth!"  Thy 
watchmen  shall  lift  up  the  voice;  with  the  voice  together 
shall  they  sing:  for  they  shall  see  eye  to  eye,  when  the 
Lord  shall  bring  again  Zion.  Break  forth  into  joy,  sing 
together,  ye  waste  places  of  Jerusalem :  for  the  Lord  hnth 
comforted  his  people,  he  hath  redeemed  Jerusalem.    The 


THE    CHALDEAN    PERIOD  151 

Lord  hath  made  bare  his  holy  arm  in  the  eyes  of  all  the 
nations ;  and  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  see  the  salva- 
tion of  our  God. 

O  thou  afflicted,  tossed  with  tempest,  and  not  com- 
forted, behold,  I  will  lay  thy  stones  with  fair  colours, 
and  lay  thy  foundations  with  sapphires.  And  I  will  make 
thy  windows  of  agates,  and  thy  gates  of  carbuncles,  and 
all  thy  borders  of  pleasant  stones.  And  all  thy  children 
shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord ;  and  great  shall  be  the  peace 
of  thy  children. 

Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon 
him  while  he  is  near:  let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way, 
and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts :  and  let  him  re- 
turn unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him ; 
and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon.  For 
my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your 
ways  my  ways,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens  are 
higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways  higher  than  your 
ways,  and  my  thoughts  than  your  thoughts.  For  as  the 
rain  cometh  down,  and  the  snow  from  heaven,  and  re- 
turneth  not  thither,  but  watereth  the  earth,  and  maketh 
it  bring  forth  and  bud,  that  it  may  give  seed  to  the  sower, 
and  bread  to  the  eater:  so  shall  my  word  be  that  goeth 
forth  out  of  my  mouth :  it  shall  not  return  unto  me  void, 
but  it  shall  accomplish  that  which  I  please,  and  it  shall 
prosper  in  the  thing  whereto  I  sent  it.  For  ye  shall  go 
out  with  joy,  and  be  led  forth  with  peace :  the  mountains 
and  the  hills  shall  break  forth  before  you  into  singing, 
and  all  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  clap  their  hands.  In- 
stead of  the  thorn  shall  come  up  the  fir  tree,  and  instead 
of  the  brier  shall  come  up  the  myrtle  tree :  and  it  shall  be 
to  the  Lord  for  a  name,  for  an  everlasting  sign  that  shall 
not  be  cut  off. 


X 


THE  prophets:  after  the  exile 


THREE  prophets, — Haggai,  Malachi  and  Zecha- 
riah — dealt  with  the  conditions  of  life  in  Jeru- 
salem after  the  return  from  the  exile.  The  situation 
was  discouraging.  Many  of  the  Jews  preferred  to  stay 
in  Babylon,  finding  business  good  there,  and  the  way  to 
preferment  open.  The  accounts  of  the  high  position 
gained  by  Daniel  and  by  Mordecai  at  the  Persian 
court  probably  belong  more  to  the  literature  of  imagi- 
nation than  to  the  literature  of  history,  but  they  indi- 
cate a  general  acceptance  of  the  fact  that  there  were 
Jews  of  great  renown  who  did  not  go  back  to  Jerusa- 
lem. Even  a  hundred  years  after  the  return  under 
Zerubbabel  and  Joshua,  men  of  such  devotion  as  Ezra 
the  scribe,  and  of  such  wealth  and  ability  of  leader- 
ship as  Nehemiah,  were  still  resident  among  the  Gen- 
tiles. The  exile  was  the  beginning  of  that  dispersion 
of  the  Jews  in  foreign  lands  which  has  ever  since  been 
one  of  the  most  notable  facts  in  their  history.  The 
people  to  whom  the  three  prophets  spoke  were  some  of 
them  descendants  of  those  who  had  been  carried  into 
exile,  but  many  were  descended  from  those  who  had 

152 


AFTER   THE    EXILE  153 

escaped  from  the  Chaldeans  into  the  surrounding  coun- 
tries, or  who  had  been  left  behind  by  the  Chaldeans  as 
not  worth  the  expense  of  deportation. 

1.  The  offenses  which  Haggai  and  Malachi  re- 
proved in  these  people  were  not  the  robust  sins  of 
idolatry  or  immorality,  but  rather  the  petty  evils  which 
belong  to  dull  indifference.  Haggai  rebuked  the  people 
because  they  did  not  rebuild  the  temple.  Malachi  re- 
buked the  priests,  after  the  temple  was  built,  because 
they  went  about  their  duties  so  carelessly,  and  ac- 
counted their  ministry  a  weariness.  The  appeals  of 
the  prophets  to  the  priests  and  to  the  people  are  on  a 
level  with  their  transgressions. 

Then  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  by  Haggai  the  pro- 
phet, saying: — "Is  it  time  for  you,  O  ye,  to  dwell  in 
your  ceiled  houses,  and  this  house  lie  waste  ?  Now  there- 
fore thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  Consider  your  ways. 
Ye  have  sown  much,  and  bring  in  little;  ye  eat,  but  ye 
have  not  enough;  ye  drink,  but  ye  are  not  filled  with 
drink ;  ye  clothe  you,  but  there  is  none  warm ;  and  he 
that  earneth  wages  earneth  wages  to  put  it  into  a  bag 
with  holes.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts;  Consider 
your  ways.  Go  up  to  the  mountain,  and  bring  wood,  and 
build  the  house;  and  I  will  take  pleasure  in  it,  and  I 
will  be  glorified,  saith  the  Lord.  Ye  looked  for  much, 
and,  lo,  it  came  to  little ;  and  when  ye  brought  it  home, 
I  did  blow  upon  it.  Why?  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  Be- 
cause of  mine  house  that  is  waste,  and  ye  run  every 
man  unto  his  own  house.  Therefore  the  heaven  over 
you  is  stayed  from  dew,  and  the  earth  is  stayed  from  her 
fruit.  And  I  called  for  a  drought  upon  the  land,  and 
upon  the  mountains,  and  upon  the  corn,  and  upon  the 
new  wine,  and  upon  the  oil,  and  upon  that  which  the 
ground  bringeth  forth,  and  upon  men,  and  upon  catde, 
and  upon  all  the  labour  of  the  hands." 


154        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

A  like  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  the  prophet  Mal- 
achi. 

A  son  honoureth  his  father,  and  a  servant  his  master : 
if  then  I  be  a  father,  where  is  mine  honour?  and  if  I 
be  a  master,  where  is  my  fear?  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts 
unto  you,  O  priests,  that  despise  my  name.  And  ye 
say : — "Wherein  have  we  despised  thy  name  ?"  Ye  offer 
polluted  bread  upon  mine  altar;  and  ye  say: — "Wherein 
have  we  polluted  thee  ?"  In  that  ye  say : — "The  table  of 
the  Lord  is  contemptible."  And  if  ye  offer  the  blind  for 
sacrifice,  is  it  not  evil?  and  if  ye  offer  the  lame  and  sick, 
is  it  not  evil  ?  offer  it  now  unto  thy  governor ;  will  he  be 
pleased  with  thee,  or  accept  thy  person?  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts. 

Ye  said  also : — "Behold,  what  a  weariness  is  it  !'*  and 
ye  have  snuffed  at  it,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts;  and  ye 
brought  that  which  was  torn,  and  the  lame,  and  the  sick ; 
thus  ye  brought  an  offering :  should  I  accept  this  of  your 
hand?  saith  the  Lord.  But  cursed  be  the  deceiver,  which 
hath  in  his  flock  a  male,  and  voweth,  and  sacrificeth  unto 
the  Lord  a  corrupt  thing:  for  I  am  a  great  King,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  my  name  is  dreadful  among  the 
heathen. 

Will  a  man  rob  God?  Yet  ye  have  robbed  me.  But 
ye  say : — "Wherein  have  we  robbed  thee  ?"  In  tithes  and 
offerings.  Ye  are  cursed  with  a  curse :  for  ye  have  robbed 
me,  even  this  whole  nation.  Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into 
the  storehouse,  that  there  may  be  meat  in  mine  house, 
and  prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if 
I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour  you 
out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to 
receive  it.  And  I  will  rebuke  the  devourer  for  your 
sakes,  and  he  shall  not  destroy  the  fruits  of  your  ground ; 
neither  shall  your  vine  cast  her  fruit  before  the  time  in 
the  field,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  And  all  nations  shall 
call  you  blessed :  for  ye  shall  be  a  delightsome  land,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts. 

It  IS  a  sordid  argument  for  a  revival  of  religion. 


AFTER   THE    EXILE  155 

Build  the  church,  and  the  Lord  will  give  you  corn  and 
wine  and  oil !  Support  the  church  by  the  prompt  pay- 
ment of  your  tithes,  your  dues,  your  generous  sub- 
scriptions, and  you  shall  have  good  seasons  and  plenti- 
ful harvests ! 

Even  so,  these  prophets  have  glimpses  of  a  kingdom 
of  God,  when  the  new  temple,  at  the  sight  of  which 
old  men  wept  who  remembered  the  splendor  of  the 
temple  of  Solomon,  shall  be  made  glorious  by  the  di- 
vine presence,  and  the  God  of  Israel  shall  reign  in 
righteousness  over  all  the  earth. 

In  the  seventh  month,  in  the  one  and  twentieth  day  of 
the  month,  came  the  word  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet 
Haggai,  saying: — ''Speak  now  to  Zerubbabel  the  son  of 
Shealtiel,  governor  of  Judah,  and  to  Joshua  the  son  of 
Josedech,  the  high  priest,  and  to  the  residue  of  the  peo- 
ple, saying,  Who  is  left  among  you  that  saw  this  house 
in  her  first  glory?  and  how  do  ye  see  it  now?  Is  it  not 
in  your  eyes  in  comparison  of  it  as  nothing?  Yet  now  be 
strong,  O  Zerubbabel,  saith  the  Lord ;  and  be  strong,  O 
Joshua,  son  of  Josedech,  the  high  priest;  and  be  strong, 
all  ye  people  of  the  land,  saith  the  Lord,  and  work :  for 
I  am  with  you,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts :  according  to  the 
word  that  I  covenanted  with  you  when  ye  came  out  of 
Egypt,  so  my  spirit  remaineth  among  you:  fear  ye  not. 
For  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  Yet  once,  it  is  a  little 
while,  and  I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and 
the  sea,  and  the  dry  land;  and  I  will  shake  all  nations, 
and  the  desire  of  all  nations  shall  come :  and  I  will  fill 
this  house  with  glory,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  The  silver 
is  mine,  and  the  gold  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
The  glory  of  this  latter  house  shall  be  greater  than  of  the 
former,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts :  and  in  this  place  will  I 
give  peace,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

Behold,  I  will  send  my  messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare 
the  way  before  me:  and  the  Lord,  whom  ye  seek,  shall 


156        HOW    TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

suddenly  come  to  his  temple,  even  the  messenger  of  the 
covenant,  whom  ye  delight  in:  behold,  he  shall  come, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  But  who  may  abide  the  day  of 
his  coming?  and  who  shall  stand  when  he  appeareth? 
for  he  is  like  a  refiner's  fire,  and  like  fullers'  soap :  and 
he  shall  sit  as  a  refiner  and  purifier  of  silver:  and  he 
shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  and  purge  them  as  gold  and 
silver,  that  they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in 
righteousness.  Then  shall  the  offering  of  Judah  and 
Jerusalem  be  pleasant  unto  the  Lord,  as  in  the  days  of 
old,  and  as  in  former  years.  And  I  will  come  near  to  you 
to  judgment;  and  I  will  be  a  swift  witness  against  the 
sorcerers,  and  against  the  adulterers,  and  against  false 
swearers,  and  against  those  that  oppress  the  hireling  in 
his  wages,  the  widow,  and  the  fatherless,  and  that  turn 
aside  the  stranger  from  his  right,  and  fear  not  me,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts. 

2.  Zechariah  was  contemporary  with  Haggai,  and 
had  the  same  manner  of  dating  his  prophecies.  Hag- 
gai's  dates  show  that  he  spoke  or  wrote  in  September, 
October  and  December,  520 :  Zechariah's  dates  are  No- 
vember, 520,  February,  519,  and  December,  518.  The 
book  called  Zechariah  is  the  first  eight  chapters.  These 
contain  a  series  of  visions  concerning  the  rebuilding  of 
the  temple  and  of  the  city,  the  removal  of  the  sin  of 
Judah,  and  the  crowning  of  the  Messiah  in  the  person 
of  Zerubbabel  the  governor.  (The  original  text  has 
been  changed  to  put  the  crown  on  the  head  of  Joshua 
the  priest.) 

Then  comes  the  Golden  Age. 

Again  the  word  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  came  to  me,  say- 
ing:— "Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts;  I  was  jealous  for 
Zion  with  great  jealousy,  and  I  was  jealous  for  her  with 


AFTER   THE   EXILE  157 

great  fury.  Thus  saith  the  Lord;  I  am  returned  unto 
Zion,  and  will  dwell  in  the  midst  of  Jerusalem :  and  Jeru- 
salem shall  be  called  a  city  of  truth;  and  the  mountain 
of  the  Lord  of  hosts  the  holy  mountain.  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts;  There  shall  yet  old  men  and  old  women 
dwell  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  and  every  man  with  his 
staff  in  his  hand  for  very  age.  And  the  streets  of  the  city 
shall  be  full  of  boys  and  girls  playing  in  the  streets 
thereof.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  ;  If  it  be  marvellous 
in  the  eyes  of  the  remnant  of  this  people  in  these  days, 
should  it  also  be  marvellous  in  mine  eyes  ?  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts;  Behold,  I  will 
save  my  people  from  the  east  country,  and  from  the  west 
country;  and  I  will  bring  them,  and  they  shall  dwell  in 
the  midst  of  Jerusalem :  and  they  shall  be  my  people,  and 
I  will  be  their  God,  in  truth  and  in  righteousness. 

"Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts;  Let  your  hands  be 
strong,  ye  that  hear  in  these  days  these  words  by  the 
mouth  of  the  prophets,  which  w^ere  in  the  day  that  the 
foundation  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  was  laid, 
that  the  temple  might  be  built.  For  before  these  days 
there  was  no  hire  for  man,  nor  any  hire  for  beast ;  neither 
was  there  any  peace  to  him  that  went  out  or  came  in  be- 
cause of  the  affliction :  for  I  set  all  men  every  one  against 
his  neighbour.  But  now  I  will  not  be  unto  the  residue 
of  this  people  as  in  the  former  days,  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts.  For  the  seed  shall  be  prosperous;  the  vine  shall 
give  her  fruit,  and  the  ground  shall  give  her  increase, 
and  the  heavens  shall  give  their  dew;  and  I  will  cause 
the  remnant  of  this  people  to  possess  all  these  things. 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  as  ye  were  a  curse  among 
the  heathen,  O  house  of  Judah,  and  house  of  Israel;  so 
will  I  save  you,  and  ye  shall  be  a  blessing :  fear  not,  but 
yet  your  hands  be  strong.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts ;  As  I  thought  to  punish  you,  when  your  fathers 
provoked  me  to  wrath,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  I 
repented  not :  so  again  have  I  thought  in  these  days  to  do 
well  unto  Jerusalem  and  to  the  house  of  Judah :  fear  ye 
not.  These  are  the  things  that  ye  shall  do;  Speak  ye 
every  man  the  truth  to  his  neighbor;  execute  the  judg- 


158        HOW   TO   KNOW   JHE   BIBLE 

ment  of  truth  and  peace  in  your  gates :  and  let  none  of 
you  imagine  evil  in  your  hearts  against  his  neighbour; 
and  love  no  false  oath :  for  all  these  are  things  that  I  hate, 
saith  the  Lord." 

And  the  word  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  came  unto  me,  say- 
ing:— "Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts;  The  fast  of  the 
fourth  month,  and  the  fast  of  the  fifth,  and  the  fast  of  the 
seventh,  and  the  fast  of  the  tenth,  shall  be  to  the  house  of 
Judah  joy  and  gladness,  and  cheerful  feasts;  therefore 
love  the  truth  and  peace.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts ; 
It  shall  yet  come  to  pass,  that  there  shall  come  people, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  many  cities :  and  the  inhabitants  of 
one  city  shall  go  to  another,  saying,  Let  us  go  speedily  to 
pray  before  the  Lord,  and  to  seek  the  Lord  of  hosts:  I 
v^ill  go  also.  Yea,  many  people  and  strong  nations  shall 
come  to  seek  the  Lord  of  hosts  in  Jerusalem,  and  to  pray 
before  the  Lord.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  In  those 
days  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  ten  men  shall  take  hold 
out  of  all  languages  of  the  nations,  even  shall  take  hold  of 
the  skirt  of  him  that  is  a  Jew,  saying.  We  will  go  with 
you :  for  we  have  heard  that  God  is  with  you." 

The  style  of  //  ZecJmriah  (9-14)  differs  from  that 
of  the  first  as  the  style  of  Carlyle  differs  from  that  of 
Macaulay.  Out  of  clearness  and  precision  we  come  at 
once  into  obscurity  and  difficulty.  A  reference  to  these 
chapters  in  Matthew  (27:9f)  makes  Jeremiah  their 
author,  and  thus  indicates  a  date  long  before  the  time 
of  Zechariah.  On  the  other  hand  a  reference  in  one 
of  the  chapters  (9:13)  to  the  Greeks  as  enemies  of 
Israel  indicates  a  date  long  after  Zechariah's  time. 
Probably  /  Zechariah  was  the  last  book  of  the  collec- 
tion of  minor  prophets,  and  various  oracles  of  various 
dates  (including  Malachi)  were  added  to  it  on  the 
blank  space  of  the  parchment  roll. 


AFTER   THE    EXILE  159 


II 

1.  The  book  of  Joel  contains  no  dating  references 
to  contemporary  history,  but  the  absence  from  it  of 
Assyrians  and  Babylonians,  and  the  presence  of  priests 
instead  of  kings  and  princes,  indicate  that  the  prophet 
belonged  to  the  time  of  Haggai,  Zechariah  and  Ma- 
lachi.  Joel  was  moved  to  interpret  the  will  of  God  by 
the  national  disaster  of  a  plague  of  locusts.  They  have 
devoured  the  land,  like  an  invading  army. 

Blow  ye  the  trumpet  in  Zion,  and  sound  an  alarm  in 
my  holy  mountain:  let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land 
tremble :  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  for  it  is  nigh  at 
hand;  a  day  of  darkness  and  of  gloominess,  a  day  of 
clouds  and  of  thick  darkness,  as  the  morning  spread  upon 
the  mountains:  a  great  people  and  a  strong;  there  hath 
not  been  ever  the  like,  neither  shall  be  any  more  after  it, 
even  to  the  years  of  many  generations.  A  fire  devoureth 
before  them;  and  behind  them  a  flame  burneth :  the  land 
is  as  the  garden  of  Eden  before  them,  and  behind  them  a 
desolate  wilderness ;  yea,  and  nothing  shall  escape  them. 
The  appearance  of  them  is  as  the  appearance  of  horses ; 
and  as  horsemen,  so  shall  they  run.  Like  the  noise  of 
chariots  on  the  tops  of  mountains  shall  they  leap,  like  the 
noise  of  a  flame  of  fire  that  devoureth  the  stubble,  as  a 
strong  people  set  in  battle  array.  Before  their  face  the 
people  shall  be  much  pained :  all  faces  shall  gather  black- 
ness. They  shall  run  like  mighty  men ;  they  shall  climb 
the  wall  like  men  of  war;  and  they  shall  march  every 
one  on  his  ways,  and  they  shall  not  break  their  ranks: 
neither  one  shall  thrust  another;  they  shall  walk  every 
one  in  his  path :  and  when  they  fall  upon  the  sword,  they 
shall  not  be  wounded.  They  shall  run  to  and  fro  in  the 
city;  they  shall  run  upon  the  wall,  they  shall  climb  up 
upon  the  houses ;  they  shall  enter  in  at  the  windows  like 


160        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

a  thief.  The  earth  shall  quake  before  them ;  the  heavens 
shall  tremble:  the  sun  and  the  moon  shall  be  dark,  and 
the  stars  shall  withdraw  their  shining :  and  the  Lord  shall 
utter  his  voice  before  his  army:  for  his  camp  is  very 
great :  for  he  is  strong  that  executeth  his  word ;  for  the 
day  of  the  Lord  is  great  and  very  terrible ;  and  who  can 
abide  it  ? 

Against  the  locusts,  the  prophet  calls  the  people  to 
prayer  and  fasting. 

Therefore  also  now,  saith  the  Lord,  turn  ye  even  to 
me  with  all  your  heart,  and  with  fasting,  and  with  weep- 
ing, and  with  mourning:  and  rend  your  heart,  and  not 
your  garments,  and  turn  unto  the  Lord  your  God:  for 
he  is  gracious  and  merciful,  slow  to  anger,  and  of  great 
kindness,  and  repenteth  him  of  the  evil.  Who  knoweth 
if  he  will  return  and  repent,  and  leave  a  blessing  behind 
him ;  even  a  meal  offering  and  a  drink  offering  unto  the 
Lord  your  God  ? 

Blow  the  trumpet  in  Zion,  sanctify  a  fast,  call  a  solemn 
assembly:  gather  the  people,  sanctify  the  congregation, 
assemble  the  elders,  gather  the  children,  and  those  that 
suck  the  breasts:  let  the  bridegroom  go  forth  of  his 
chamber,  and  the  bride  out  of  her  closet.  Let  the  priests, 
the  ministers  of  the  Lord,  weep  between  the  porch  and 
the  altar,  and  let  them  say : — "Spare  thy  people,  O  Lord, 
and  give  not  thine  heritage  to  reproach,  that  the  heathen 
should  rule  over  them :  wherefore  should  they  say  among 
the  people.  Where  is  their  God  ?"  Then  will  the  Lord  be 
jealous  for  his  land,  and  pity  his  people.  Yea,  the  Lord 
will  answer  and  say  unto  his  people: — "Behold,  I  will 
send  you  corn,  and  wine,  and  oil,  and  ye  shall  be  satisfied 
therewith." 

The  locusts  are  driven  away,  the  rain  revives  the 
blighted  earth,  and  the  prophet  sees  a  vision  of  the 
Golden  Age. 


AFTER   THE    EXILE  161 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass  afterward,  that  I  will  pour 
out  my  spirit  upon  all  flesh;  and  your  sons  and  your 
daughters  shall  prophesy,  your  old  men  shall  dream 
dreams,  your  young  men  shall  see  visions :  and  also 
upon  the  servants  and  upon  the  handmaids  in  those  days 
will  I  pour  out  my  spirit.  And  I  will  shew  wonders  in 
the  heavens  and  in  the  earth,  blood  and  fire,  and  pillars 
of  smoke.  The  sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the 
moon  into  blood,  before  the  great  and  the  terrible  day 
of  the  Lord  come.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  who- 
soever shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  de- 
livered: for  in  mount  Zion  and  in  Jerusalem  shall  be 
deliverance,  as  the  Lord  hath  said,  and  in  the  remnant 
whom  the  Lord  shall  call. 

Proclaim  ye  this  among  the  Gentiles;  Prepare  war, 
wake  up  the  mighty  men,  let  all  the  men  of  war  draw 
near ;  let  them  come  up :  beat  your  plowshares  into 
swords,  and  your  pruninghooks  into  spears :  let  the  weak 
say: — 'T  am  strong."  Assemble  yourselves,  and  come, 
all  ye  heathen,  and  gather  yourselves  together  round 
about:  thither  cause  thy  mighty  ones  to  come  down,  O 
Lord.  Let  the  heathen  be  wakened,  and  come  up  to  the 
valley  of  Jehoshaphat :  for  there  will  I  sit  to  judge  all  the 
heathen  round  about.  Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  har- 
vest is  ripe :  come,  get  you  down ;  for  the  press  is  full,  the 
fats  overflow ;  for  their  wickedness  is  great.  Multitudes, 
multitudes  in  the  valley  of  decision :  for  the  day  of  the 
Lord  is  near  in  the  valley  of  decision.  The  sun  and  the 
moon  shall  be  darkened,  and  the  stars  shall  withdraw 
their  shining.  The  Lord  also  shall  roar  out  of  Zion,  and 
utter  his  voice  from  Jerusalem ;  and  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  shall  shake :  but  the  Lord  will  be  the  hope  of  his 
people,  and  the  strength  of  the  children  of  Israel.  So 
shall  ye  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God  dwelling  in 
Zion,  my  holy  mountain:  then  shall  Jerusalem  be  holy, 
and  there  shall  no  strangers  pass  through  her  any  more. 

2.  Three  short  stories,  Esther,  Ruth  and  Jonah, 
show  how  certain  prophets  after  the  exile  put  their 
sermons  into  a  literary  form  akin  to  that  which  our 


162        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

Lord  used  in  his  parables.  Distant  as  they  are  from 
each  other  in  the  arrangement  of  the  books  of  the 
Bible,  they  are  connected  by  their  reference  to  the  re- 
lation of  the  Jews  to  their  neighbors  and  enemies,  the 
Gentiles.  The  hardships  of  the  exile  and  of  the  sub- 
sequent oppression  had  intensified  all  the  natural  race 
antagonism,  and  this  had  been  further  increased  by 
the  conviction  that  the  maintenance  of  this  antagonism 
was  the  only  protection  of  the  Jewish  religion  against 
idolatry  and  immorality.  This  extended  under  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah  to  the  prohibition  of  inter-marriage. 
Jews  who  had  married  Gentiles  were  compelled  to  put 
them  away. 

This  antagonism  is  exemplified  and  encouraged  in 
Esther,  where  Xerxes'  Jewish  queen,  discovering  a 
plot  laid  by  the  grand  vizier,  Haman,  to  destroy  her 
kinsman  Mordecai,  and  all  the  Jews  in  Persia  with 
him,  not  only  gets  Haman  hanged  on  the  gallows 
which  he  had  prepared  for  Mordecai,  but  obtains  per- 
mission for  the  Jews  to  rise  and  kill  their  Persian 
neighbors.  This  they  do  with  vigor  and  enthusiasm, 
slaying  more  than  seventy-five  thousand  Geptiles.  This 
deliverance  is  still  celebrated,  as  winter  passes  into 
spring,  at  the  feast  of  Purim,  named  from  the  lots 
(purim)  with  which  Haman  decided  the  fate  of  the 
Jews  from  which  Esther  saved  them.  At  this  feast 
this  book  is  read  aloud. 

But  the  story  of  Ruth  has  for  its  heroine  a  Gentile 
woman  from  the  land  of  Moab,  the  widow  of  a  Jew, 
married  again  to  another  Jew,  and  thereby  becoming 
the  ancestress  of  no  less  a  person  than  King  David. 


AFTER    THE    EXILE  163 

And  the  book  of  Jonah  is  a  plainer  protest  against 
race  prejudice,  and  hatred  of  the  Gentiles.  The  au- 
thor, who  had  a  sense  of  humor,  might  have  been 
amused  as  well  as  chagrined  if  he  could  have  fore- 
seen the  serious  discussion  of  his  great  fish  from  the 
point  of  view  of  ichthyology.  Unhappily,  the  fish, 
whose  proper  part  in  this  narrative  is  confined  to  two 
verses  (1  :17;  2:10),  has  quite  obscured  our  hero,  and 
hidden  from  the  general  mind  the  fine  meaning  of  the 
book.  Jonah  is  an  exclusive,  narrow-minded  Jew,  who 
lived  in  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II  (//  Kings  14:25), 
and  who  may  have  borne  in  actual  life  the  bad  char- 
acter which  is  given  him  in  the  story;  though  of  this 
the  record  in  Kings  says  nothing.  The  purpose  of  the 
author  is  to  hold  up  that  kind  of  man  to  ridicule  and 
reprobation.  Jonah  believed  that  the  God  of  Israel  had 
no  jurisdiction  outside  of  Palestine.  Desiring  to  evade 
a  mission  to  which  God  called  him,  he  fled  the  country 
"from  the  presence  of  the  Lord."  Being  stopped  by 
storm  and  shipwreck,  and  escaping  at  the  peril  of  his 
life,  he  obeyed  when  the  Lord  spoke  a  second  time,  and 
undertook  the  errand  on  which  he  was  sent.  This  was 
to  declare  in  Nineveh,  "Yet  forty  days,  and  Nineveh 
shall  be  overthrown."  This  preaching  resulted  as 
Jonah  had  feared.  The  city  repented  of  its  sins,  and 
its  punishment  was  averted. 

And  God  saw  their  works,  that  they  turned  from  their 
evil  way;  and  God  repented  of  the  evil,  that  he  had  said 
that  he  would  do  unto  them;  and  he  did  it  not.  But  it 
displeased  Jonah  exceedingly,  and  he  was  very  angry. 
And  he  prayed  unto  the  Lord,  and  said : — "I  pray  thee, 


164        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

O  Lord,  was  not  this  my  saying,  when  I  was  yet  m  my 
country?  Therefore  I  fled  before  unto  Tarshish:  for  I 
knew  that  thou  art  a  gracious  God,  and  merciful,  slow 
to  anger,  and  of  great  kindness,  and  repentest  thee  of 
the  evil.  Therefore  now,  O  Lord,  take,  I  beseech  thee, 
my  life  from  me;  for  it  is  better  for  me  to  die  than  to 
live." 

The  story  ends  with  the  rebuke  of  the  prophet  whose 
only  desire  for  the  Gentiles  was  that  the  Lord  might 
visit  upon  them  unescapable  damnation. 


Ill 


The  last  of  the  enemies  who  became  masters  of  the 
holy  land  and  rulers  of  the  Jews  were  the  Greeks. 
They  came  with  Alexander  when  he  conquered  the 
country  in  332 ;  they  were  divided  after  his  death  into 
the  Greeks  of  Syria  under  the  Seleucids  and  the  Greeks 
of  Egypt  under  the  Ptolemies;  about  the  year  170,  one 
of  the  Seleucids,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  tried  to  de- 
stroy the  Jewish  religion.  He  persecuted  the  Jews, 
profaned  the  temple,  and  desecrated  the  altar.  Out  of 
this  calamity  came  the  book  of  Daniel. 

The  scene  of  the  book  is  Babylon,  and  the  time  is 
the  sixth  century,  during  the  exile ;  but  the  interest  of 
the  writer  is  not,  as  in  //  Isaiah  and  Ezekiel,  in  the 
deliverance  from  captivity  under  the  Chaldeans,  but 
in  deliverance  from  the  persecution  which  was  carried 
on,  in  the  second  century,  by  the  Greeks.  (8:9-14, 
23-25;  11 :21-45.)  That  the  book  (like  Paradise  Lost 
or  Hamlet)  was  not  written  in  the  place  or  at  the  time 
of  the  events  which  it  records  is  indicated  by  several 


AFTER   THE    EXILE  165 

considerations.  Daniel  is  found  by  scholars  to  contain 
Persian  words  which  could  hardly  have  come  into  the 
language  of  the  Jews  before  the  conquest  of  the  Chal- 
deans by  the  Persians  (538),  and  Greek  words  which 
could  hardly  have  come  into  use  before  the  conquest 
of  the  Persians  by  the  Greeks  (332).  Daniel,  in  the 
Hebrew  Bible,  is  not  placed  with  the  other  prophets, 
but  among  the  miscellaneous  and  later  writings  at  the 
end.  The  writer  of  Ecclesiasticus,  in  the  Apocrypha, 
in  his  comments  on  the  great  men  of  the  past,  written 
about  200,  speaks  of  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and 
the  minor  prophets  ("the  twelve  prophets"),  but  has 
not  a  word  to  say  of  Daniel ;  probably  because  at  that 
time  the  book  of  Daniel  had  not  been  written.  It  must 
have  been  written,  however,  before  the  victorious  up- 
rising of  the  Jews  against  the  Greeks,  under  Judas 
Maccabeus  in  165,  for  it  comes  to  an  end  just  before 
that  event.  The  words,  "They  shall  be  helped  with  a 
little  help'*  (11:34)  seem  to  refer  to  that  revolution 
at  a  stage  in  its  beginning  when  the  writer  did  not 
know  how  great  that  help  would  prove  to  be. 

This  dating  of  Daniel  in  the  second  century  is  not 
a  matter  of  importance,  except  as  it  serves  to  entitle 
the  writer  to  a  place  among  the  genuine  prophets,  who 
were  occupied  in  dealing  with  the  problems  of  their 
own  time,  and  in  ministering  to  the  people  among 
whom  they  lived;  and  except  as  it  serves  also  to  dis- 
credit the  identification  of  prophets  with  fortune- 
tellers, and  to  discourage  the  consulting  of  the  Bible 
for  the  idle  purpose  of  discovering  what  will  happen 
in  the  future. 


166        HOW    TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

The  purpose  of  the  prophet  who  wrote  the  book  of 
Daniel  was  to  give  comfort  and  confidence  to  his 
neighbors  who  were  suffering  under  the  persecution 
of  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  This  he  did  in  the  first  half 
of  the  book  by  a  series  of  stones,  and  in  the  second 
half  by  a  series  of  visions. 

The  stories  told  how  in  a  time  when  the  Jews  were 
oppressed  by  the  Chaldeans,  Daniel  and  his  compan- 
ions who  remained  true  to  their  religion  were  saved 
out  of  tragic  situations.  They  were  thrust  into  a  burn- 
ing, fiery  furnace,  and  flung  into  a  den  of  hungry  lions, 
and  by  the  grace  of  God  came  out  unharmed. 

The  visions  declared  that  as  vast  empires  of  the  past 
had  fallen  and  given  place  to  others,  so  the  vast  empire 
of  the  persecuting  Greeks  should  fall,  and  in  its  place 
should  rise  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord  God,  who  should 
reign  at  last  over  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Strange 
beasts  with  horns  are  symbols  of  these  successive  em- 
pires, and  a  "little  horn"  represents  Antiochus  whose 
name  it  is  not  safe  to  mention.  Mysterious  reckonings 
of  dates  are  intended  to  show  that  the  time  of  deliver- 
ance is  near  at  hand.  It  is  to  take  place  seventy  weeks 
(of  years)  after  the  restoration  of  Jerusalem  at  the 
return  from  exile.  Sixty-nine  such  weeks  have  passed. 
In  the  midst  of  the  seventieth  week,  i.  e.  three  and  a 
half  years  before  the  promised  deliverance,  the  enemy 
shall  be  at  his  worst.  "In  the  midst  of  the  week,  he 
shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  the  oblation  to  cease,  and 
for  the  overspreading  of  abominations  he  shall  make 
it  desolate,  even  until  the  consummation,  and  that  de- 
termined, shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolate.'*     It  is 


AFTER    THE    EXILE  167 

what  Antlochus  did  when  he  destroyed  the  altar  of 
God,  and  in  its  place  erected  an  altar  to  Zeus,  the 
''abomination  of  desolation."  (9:24-27.)  But  only 
three  and  a  half  years  remain  of  this  distress.  The 
prophet  counsels  faith  and  patience.  The  redemption 
of  the  people  is  at  hand. 

I  beheld  till  the  thrones  were  cast  down,  and  the  Ancient 
of  days  did  sit,  whose  garment  was  white  as  snow,  and 
the  hair  of  his  head  like  the  pure  wool :  his  throne  was 
like  the  fiery  flame,  and  his  wheels  as  burning  fire.  A 
fiery  stream  issued  and  came  forth  from  before  him: 
thousand  thousands  ministered  unto  him,  and  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him :  the  judgment 
was  set,  and  the  books  were  opened.  I  beheld  then  be- 
cause of  the  voice  of  the  great  words  which  the  horn 
spake :  I  beheld  even  till  the  beast  was  slain,  and  his  body 
destroyed,  and  given  to  the  burning  flame.  As  concerning 
the  rest  of  the  beasts,  they  had  their  dominion  taken 
away :  yet  their  lives  were  prolonged  for  a  season  and 
time.  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like 
the  Son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and 
came  to  the  Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near 
before  him.  And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and 
glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations,  and  lan- 
guages, should  serve  him;  his  dominion  is  an  everlasting 
dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom 
that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed. 

Thus  the  last  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  writ- 
ing in  the  second  century  before  Christ,  renews  the 
repeated  assurance  of  his  predecessors.  In  the  midst 
of  dire  distress,  when  even  hope  seems  lost,  he  declares 
the  sure  and  speedy  defeat  of  all  the  enemies  of  God. 


XI 


THE  POETS 


SOME  of  the  poetry  which  appears  in  the  pages  of 
the  historians  and  of  the  prophets  is  so  vaguely 
related  to  the  circumstances  in  the  midst  of  which  it 
stands  as  to  suggest  that  it  was  originally  composed 
for  some  other  occasion.  Thus  the  Song  of  Hannah 
(/  Sam.  2),  the  Old  Testament  Magnificat,  reads  like 
the  celebration  of  a  victory  in  battle. 

My  heart  rejoiceth  in  the  Lord, 
Mine  horn  is  exalted  in  the  Lord : 
My  mouth  is  enlarged  over  mine  enemies ; 
Because  I  rejoice  in  thy  salvation. 
There  is  none  holy  as  the  Lord ; 
For  there  is  none  beside  thee : 
Neither  is  there  any  rock  like  our  God. 
Talk  no  more  so  exceeding  proudly ; 
/  Let  not  arrogancy  come  out  of  your  mouth : 

For  the  Lord  is  a  God  of  knowledge. 
And  by  him  actions  are  weighed. 
The  bows  of  the  mighty  men  are  broken, 
And  they  that  stumbled  are  girded  with  strength. 
They  that  were  full  have  hired  out  themselves  for 

bread ; 
And  they  that  were  hungry  ceased : 
Yea,  the  barren  hath  born  seven  ; 
And  she  that  hath  many  children  is  waxed  feeble. 

168 


THE    POETS  169 

The  Lord  killeth,  and  maketh  alive : 

He  bringeth  down  to  the  grave,  and  bringeth  up. 

The  Lord  maketh  poor,  and  maketh  rich: 

He  bringeth  low,  and  lifteth  up. 

He  raiseth  up  the  poor  out  of  the  dust. 

He  lifteth  up  the  beggar  from  the  dunghill, 

To  make  them  sit  with  princes, 

And  inherit  the  throne  of  glory : 

For  the  pillars  of  the  earth  are  the  Lord's, 

And  he  hath  set  the  world  upon  them. 

He  will  keep  the  feet  of  his  saints, 

But  the  wicked  shall  be  silent  in  darkness ; 

For  by  strength  shall  no  man  prevail. 

The  adversaries  of  the  Lord  shall  be  broken  to 

pieces ; 
Out  of  the  heaven  shall  he  thunder  upon  them : 
The  Lord  shall  judge  the  ends  of  the  earth ; 
And  he  shall  give  strength  unto  his  king, 
And  exalt  the  horn  of  his  anointed. 

The  Prayer  of  Jonah,  with  its  references  to  the 
holy  temple  {Jonah  2:2-9),  seems  to  belong  rather  to 
the  thought  of  the  southern  kingdom  than  the  north- 
em,  where  Jonah  lived. 

I  cried  by  reason  of  mine  afHiction  unto  the  Lord, 

And  he  heard  me ; 

Out  of  the  belly  of  hell  cried  I, 

And  thou  heardest  my  voice. 

For  thou  hadst  cast  me  into  the  deep,  in  the  midst 

of  the  seas ; 
And  the  floods  compassed  me  about : 
All  thy  billows  and  thy  waves  passed  over  me. 
Then  I  said,  I  am  cast  out  of  thy  sight ; 
Yet  I  will  look  again  toward  thy  holy  temple. 
The  waters  compassed  me  about,  even  to  the  soul : 
The  depth  closed  me  round  about. 
The  weeds  were  wrapped  about  my  head. 
I  went  down  to  the  bottoms  of  the  mountains ; 


170        HOW   TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

The  earth  with  her  bars  was  about  me  for  ever : 
Yet  hast  thou  brought  up  my  life  from  corruption, 

O  Lord  my  God. 
When  my  soul  fainted  within  me  I  remembered 

the  Lord : 
And  my  prayer  came  in  unto  thee,  into  thine  holy 

temple. 
They  that  observe  lying  vanities 
Forsake  their  own  mercy. 
But  I  will  sacrifice  unto  thee  with  the  voice  of 

thanksgiving ; 
I  will  pay  that  that  I  have  vowed. 
Salvation  is  of  the  Lord. 

The  Ode  of  Hahakkuk  is  appended  to  the  book  of 
that  prophet  rather  than  vitally  connected  with  it. 

O  Lord,  I  have  heard  thy  speech,  and  was  afraid : 

0  Lord,  revive  thy  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years, 
In  the  midst  of  the  years  make  it  known ; 

In  wrath  remember  mercy. 

God  came  from  Teman, 

And  the  Holy  One  from  mount  Paran. 

His  glory  covered  the  heavens, 

And  the  earth  was  full  of  his  praise. 

And  his  brightness  was  as  the  light ; 

He  had  horns  coming  out  of  his  hand : 

And  there  was  the  hiding  of  his  power. 

Before  him  went  the  pestilence. 

And  burning  coals  w^ent  forth  at  his  feet. 

He  stood  and  measured  the  earth : 

He  beheld,  and  drove  asunder  the  nations ; 

And  the  everlasting  mountains  were  scattered. 

The  perpetual  hills  did  bow: 

His  ways  are  everlasting. 

1  saw  the  tents  of  Cushan  in  affliction : 

The  curtains  of  the  land  of  Midian  did  tremble. 
Was  the  Lord  displeased  against  the  rivers  ? 
Was  thine  anger  against  the  rivers  ? 
Was  thy  wrath  against  the  sea, 


THE    POETS  171 

That  thou  didst  ride  upon  thine  horses, 

Upon  thy  chariots  of  salvation? 

Thy  bow  was  made  quite  naked, 

The  oaths  to  the  tribes  were  a  sure  word. 

Thou  didst  cleave  the  earth  with  rivers. 

The  mountains  saw  thee,  and  they  trembled : 

The  overflowing  of  the  water  passed  by : 

The  deep  uttered  its  voice, 

And  lifted  up  its  hands  on  high. 

The  sun  and  moon  stood  still  in  their  habitation : 

At  the  light  of  thine  arrows  they  went, 

And  at  the  shining  of  thy  glittering  spear. 

Thou  didst  march  through  the  land  in  indignation. 

Thou  didst  thresh  the  heathen  in  anger. 

Thou  wentest  forth  for  the  salvation  of  thy  people, 

For  the  salvation  of  thine  anointed ; 

Thou  woundedst  the  head  out  of  the  house  of  the 

wicked, 
By  discovering  the  foundation  unto  the  neck. 

Thou  didst  strike  through  with  his  staves  the  head 

of  his  warriors; 
They  came  out  as  a  whirlwind  to  scatter  me : 
Their  rejoicing  was  as  to  devour  the  poor  secretly. 
Thou  didst  walk  through  the  sea  with  thine  horses. 
Through  the  heap  of  great  waters. 
When  I  heard,  my  belly  trembled ; 
My  lips  quivered  at  the  voice : 
Rottenness  entered  into  my  bones,  and  I  trembled 

in  myself; 
That  I  might  rest  in  the  day  of  trouble, 
When  he  that  shall  invade  them  in  troops  comelh 

up  against  the  people. 
Although  the  fig  tree  shall  not  blossom. 
Neither  shall  fruit  be  in  the  vines ; 
The  labour  of  the  olive  shall  fail, 
And  the  fields  shall  yield  no  meat ; 
The  flock  shall  be  cut  off  from  the  fold. 
And  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls  : 


172        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

Yet  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord, 
I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation. 
The  Lord  God  is  my  strength, 
And  he  will  make  my  feet  like  hinds*  feet, 
And  he  will  make  me  to  walk  upon  mine  high 
places. 

The  absence  of  rhyme  and  meter  from  Hebrew  po- 
etry, and  the  occasional  indistinctness  of  the  parallelism 
which  is  its  characteristic  form,  blur  the  distinction  be- 
tween verse  and  eloquent  and  imaginative  prose.  This 
appears  often  in  the  prophets,  especially  in  //  Isaiah, 
part  of  which  is  plainly  poetry  in  form  as  well  as  in 
thought,  and  most  of  which  is  poetical  in  thought  even 
when  the  form  looks  like  prose. 

Of  the  five  Old  Testament  books  which  are  written 
in  poetry,  two — Proverbs  and  Job — belong  also  to  the 
literature  of  Wisdom.  The  other  three, — Lamenta^ 
tions,  the  Song  of  Solomon  and  the  Psalms, — are  col- 
lections of  lyrics. 

II 

The  statement  of  the  Chronicler  (//  Chron.  35:25) 
that  "Jertmiah  lamented  for  Josiah ;  and  all  the  singing 
men  and  the  singing  women  spake  of  Josiah  in  their 
lamentations ;  and  behold  they  are  written  in  the  Lam- 
entations/' led  Jewish  critics  to  ascribe  to  Jeremiah 
the  book  which  bears  that  name,  and  to  apply  these 
poems  to  the  tragedy  of  the  defeat  and  death  of  Josiah 
at  the  battle  of  Megiddo.  But  the  poems  are  anony- 
mous, and  they  seem  to  have  been  occasioned  by  the 
supreme  tragedy  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Four 


THE    POETS  173 

of  these  five  elegies  are  alphabetical  acrostics;  i.  e. 
each  of  them  consists  of  twenty-two  portions,  or 
strophes,  according  to  the  number  of  letters  in  the 
Hebrew  alphabet.  In  the  first  and  second  each  strophe 
consists  of  three  lines,  and  the  first  strophe  begins  with 
a  word  whose  initial  letter  is  the  Hebrew  A,  the  second 
strophe  begins  with  B  and  so  on  down ;  so  in  the  fourth 
poem,  except  that  each  verse  contains  two  lines  instead 
of  three;  in  the  third  there  are  sixty-six  lines,  the  first 
three  beginning  with  A  in  Hebrew,  the  second  with  B. 
In  spite  of  this  mechanical  arrangement  these  dirges 
are  filled  with  pathos  and  passion  which  seem  to  know 
170  limitation  of  restraint. 
The  holy  city  is  deserted. 

How  doth  the  city  sit  solitary,  that  was  full  of  people ! 

How  is  she  become  as  a  widow ! 

She  that  was  great  among  the  nations,  and  princess 
among  the  provinces, 

How  is  she  become  tributary ! 

She  weepeth  sore  in  the  night,  and  her  tears  are  on  her 
cheeks : 

Among  all  her  lovers  she  hath  none  to  comfort  her : 

All  her  friends  have  dealt  treacherously  with  her. 

They  are  become  her  enemies. 

Judah  is  gone  into  captivity  because  of  affliction,  and  be- 
cause of  great  servitude : 

She  dwelleth  among  the  heathen,  she  findeth  no  rest : 

All  her  persecutors  overtook  her  between  the  straits. 

The  ways  of  Zion  do  mourn,  because  none  come  to  the 
solemn  feasts: 

All  her  gates  are  desolate,  her  priests  sigh ; 

Her  virgins  are  afflicted,  and  she  is  in  bitterness. 

Her  adversaries  are  the  chief,  her  enemies  prosper : 


174        HOW    TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

For  the  Lord  'hath  afflicted  her  for  the  multitude  of  her 

transgressions : 
Her  children  are  gone  into  captivity  before  the  enemy. 
And  from  the  daughter  of  Zion  all  her  beauty  is  de- 
parted : 
Her  princes  are  become  like  harts  that  find  no  pasture, 
And  they  are  gone  without  strength  before  the  pursuer. 
Is  it  nothing  to  you,  all  ye  that  pass  by  ? 
Behold,  and  see  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto  my  sor- 
row, which  is  done  unto  me. 
Wherewith  the  Lord  hath  afflicted  me  in  the  day  of  his 

fierce  anger. 
From  above  hath  he  sent  fire  into  my  bones,  and  it  pre- 

vaileth  against  them : 
He  hath  spread  a  net  for  my  feet,  he  hath  turned  me 

back: 
He  hath  made  me  desolate  and  faint  all  the  day. 
The  yoke  of  my  transgressions  is  bound  by  his  hand : 
They  are  wreathed,  and  come  up  upon  my  neck :  he  hath 

made  my  strength  to  fall. 
The  Lord  hath  delivered  me  into  their  hands,  from  whom 

I  am  not  able  to  rise  up. 
The  Lord  hath  trodden  under  foot  all  my  mighty  men  in 

the  midst  of  me : 
He  hath  called  an  assembly  against  me  to  crush  my  young 

men: 
The  Lord  hath  trodden  the  virgin,  the  daughter  of  Judah, 

as  in  a  winepress. 
For  these  things  I  weep ;  mine  eye,  mine  eye  runneth 

down  with  water, 
Because  the  comforter  that  should  relieve  my  soul  is  far 

from  me : 
My  children  are  desolate,  because  the  enemy  prevailed. 

The  second  elegy,  in  the  bitterness  of  its  spirit,  and 
in  the  vividness  of  its  descriptions  of  the  misery  of  the 
besieged  city,  may  have  been  written  by  one  who  had 
himself  shared  in  these  experiences. 


THE    POETS  175 

These  five  poems  are  recited  every  Friday  afternoon 
at  the  **Jews'  wailing  place"  in  Jerusalem,  and  once  a 
year,  on  a  day  in  August,  in  every  synagogue. 

There  is  a  note  of  hope  in  the  third  poem. 

Remember  mine  affliction  and  my  misery,  the  wormwood 

and  the  gall. 
My  soul  hath  them  still  in  remembrance,  and  is  humbled 

in  me. 
This  I  recall  to  my  mind,  therefore  have  I  hope. 
It  is  of  the  Lord's  mercies  that  we  are  not  consumed, 

because  his  compassions  fail  not. 
They  are  new  every  morning:  great  is  thy  faithfulness. 
The  Lord  is  my  portion,  saith  my  soul;  therefore  will  I 

hope  in  him. 
The  Lord  is  good  unto  them  that  wait  for  him,  to  the 

soul  that  seeketh  him. 
It  is  good  that  a  man  should  both  hope  and  quietly  wait 

for  the  salvation  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  good  for  a  man  that  he  bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth. 
He  sitteth  alone  and  keepeth  silence,  because  he  hath 

laid  it  upon  him. 
He  putteth  his  mouth  in  the  dust ;  if  so  be  there  may  be 

hope. 
He  giveth  his  cheek  to  him  that  smiteth  him :  he  is  filled 

full  with  reproach. 
For  the  Lord  will  not  cast  off  for  ever : 
But  though  he  cause  grief,  yet  will  he  have  compassion 

according  to  the  multitude  of  his  mercies. 
For  he  doth  not  afflict  willingly  nor  grieve  the  children 

of  men. 

But  for  the  most  part  the  grief  of  Lamentations  is 
beyond  the  expectation  of  comfort. 

Remember,  O  Lord,  what  is  come  upon  us : 
Consider,  and  behold  our  reproach. 
Our  inheritance  is  turned  to  strangers. 


176        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Our  houses  to  aliens. 

We  are  orphans  and  fatherless, 

Our  mothers  are  as  widows. 

Woe  unto  us,  that  we  have  sinned ! 

For  this  our  heart  is  faint ; 

For  these  things  our  eyes  are  dim. 

Because  of  the  mountain  of  Zion,  which  is  desolate, 

The  foxes  walk  upon  it. 

Thou,  O  Lord,  remainest  for  ever; 

Thy  throne  from  generation  to  generation. 

Wherefore  dost  thou  forget  us  for  ever, 

And  forsake  us  so  long  time  ? 

Turn  thou  us  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  and  we  shall  be 

turned ; 
Renew  our  days  as  of  old. 
But  thou  hast  utterly  rejected  us : 
Thou  art  very  wroth  against  us. 


Ill 


The  difference  between  Lamentations  and  the  Song 
of  Solomon  is  like  the  difference  between  a  funeral  and 
a  wedding.  This  book  is  a  collection  of  love-songs.  It 
was  brought  into  the  Hebrew  Bible  by  an  interpretation 
which  made  it  an  allegory  in  which  the  lovers  were  God 
and  the  soul.  It  was  kept  in  the  Christian  Bible  by  a 
similar  interpretation  which  saw  in  the  lovers  Christ 
and  the  Church.  Of  all  this,  however,  there  is  no 
trace  in  the  book.  The  lovers  are  a  Syrian  man  and 
woman,  and  their  love  is  such  as  appears  in  the  idyls 
of  Theocritus  and  in  the  odes  of  Horace. 

The  presence  of  dialogue  in  these  poems  suggested  a 
theory  which  made  the  book  a  play  or  an  opera.  The 
heroine  is  called  the  Shulamite   (6:13)   because  she 


THE    POETS  177 

comes  from  the  village  of  Shunem  whence  came  the 
fair  Abishag  (/  Kings  1 :3)  to  the  court  of  David  and 
Solomon.  One  of  the  heroes  is  Solomon,  who  appears 
upon  the  scene  in  the  third  chapter,  carried  in  his 
palanquin,  surrounded  by  his  body-guard,  and  wel- 
comed by  the  ladies  of  Jerusalem. 

Who  is  this  that  cometh  out  of  the  wilderness  like  pillars 
of  smoke, 

Perfumed  with  myrrh  and  frankincense, 

With  all  powders  of  the  merchant? 

Behold  his  bed,  which  is  Solomon's ; 

Threescore  valiant  men  are  about  it. 

Of  the  valiant  of  Israel. 

They  all  hold  swords,  being  expert  in  war : 

Every  man  hath  his  sword  upon  his  thigh 

Because  of  fear  in  the  night. 

King  Solomon  made  himself  a  chariot 

Of  the  wood  of  Lebanon. 

He  made  the  pillars  thereof  of  silver. 

The  bottom  thereof  of  gold,  the  covering  of  it  of  purple, 

The  midst  thereof  being  paved  with  love. 

For  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem. 

Go  forth,  O  ye  daughters  of  Zion,  and  behold  king  Solo- 
mon 

With  the  crown  wherewith  his  mother  crowned  him  in 
the  day  of  his  espousals. 

And  in  the  day  of  the  gladness  of  his  heart. 

Another  hero  is  a  shepherd  lover,  to  whom  the 
Shulamite  remains  faithful  in  the  midst  of  the  bland- 
ishments of  the  royal  harem,  preferring  him  to  Solo- 
mon. This  theory  demands  the  use  of  much  ingenuity 
and  imagination,  but  any  opera  or  play  would  be  ob- 
scure if  it  had  no  stage  directions,  and  did  not  indicate 
who  said  this,  and  who  said  that. 


178        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

A  study  of  the  marriage  customs  of  Syrian  peasants 
has  suggested  another  theory.  For  a  week  the  wedding 
festivities  continue,  and  the  bride  and  groom,  saluted 
as  king  and  queen,  and  seated  on  an  improvised  throne, 
listen  to  songs  sung  in  celebration  of  their  love.  The 
book  may  be  a  collection  of  such  nuptial  songs.  It  has 
not  been  found,  however,  that  the  groom  on  such  oc- 
casions calls  himself  Solomon,  neither  do  the  verses 
fit  the  conditions  very  closely.  The  verses  themselves 
seem  too  carefully  adorned  and  polished  for  a  peasant 
wedding. 

Whatever  the  complete  design  into  which  these  gems 
were  fitted  by  the  poet,  they  still  shine  as  single  jewels 
in  the  radiance  of  their  own  beauty.  They  were  not 
meant  to  adorn  an  altar:  there  is  no  "religion"  in  the 
book.  But  they  were  made  to  beautify  a  wedding,  and 
are  in  honor  of  that  natural  human  love  of  man  and 
woman  upon  which  religion  has  sometimes  cast  dis- 
credit. In  the  sight  of  this  love  "the  world's  at  the 
spring." 

"Rise  up,  my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come  away. 

For,  lo,  the  winter  is  past, 

The  rain  is  over  and  gone ; 

The  flowers  appear  on  the  earth ; 

The  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come, 

And  the  voice  of  the  turtle  is  heard  in  our  land ; 

The  fig  tree  putteth  forth  her  green  figs, 

And  the  vines  with  the  tender  grape  give  a  good  smell. 

Arise,  my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come  away. 

O  my  dove,  that  art  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock,  in  the  covert 

of  the  steep  place, 
Let  me  see  thy  countenance,  let  me  hear  thy  voice ; 
For  sweet  is  thy  voice,  and  thy  countenance  is  comely." 


THE    POETS  179 

Take  us  the  foxes,  the  little  foxes,  that  spoil  the  vines : 
For  our  vines  have  tender  grapes. 
My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his : 
He  f  eedeth  among  the  lilies. 

Come  with  me  from  Lebanon,  my  spouse. 

With  me  from  Lebanon : 

Look  from  the  top  of  Amana, 

From  the  top  of  Shenir  and  Hermon, 

From  the  lions'  dens, 

From  the  mountains  of  the  leopards. 

Thou  hast  ravished  my  heart,  my  sister,  my  spouse ; 

Thou  hast  ravished  my  heart  with  one  of  thine  eyes. 

With  one  chain  of  thy  neck. 

How  fair  is  thy  love,  my  sister,  my  spouse ! 

How  much  better  is  thy  love  than  wine ! 

And  the  smell  of  thine  ointments  than  all  spices ! 

Thy  lips,  O  my  spouse,  drop  as  the  honeycomb : 

Honey  and  milk  are  under  thy  tongue ; 

And  the  smell  of  thy  garments  is  like  the  smell  of  Leb- 
anon. 

A  garden  inclosed  is  my  sister,  my  spouse ; 

A  spring  shut  up,  a  fountain  sealed. 

Thy  plants  are  an  orchard  of  pomegranates,  with  pleasant 
fruits ; 

Camphire,  with  spikenard. 

Spikenard  and  saffron ; 

Calamus  and  cinnamon,  with  all  trees  of  frankincense ; 

Myrrh  and  aloes,  with  all  the  chief  spices : 

A  fountain  of  gardens, 

A  well  of  living  waters. 

And  streams  from  Lebanon. 

Awake,  O  north  wind ;  and  come,  thou  south ; 

Blow  upon  my  garden,  that  the  spices  thereof  may  flow 

out. 
Let  my  beloved  come  into  his  garden. 
And  eat  his  pleasant  fruits. 
Set  me  as  a  seal  upon  thine  heart,  as  a  seal  upon  thine 

arm: 


180        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

For  love  is  strong  as  death ; 

Jealousy  is  cruel  as  the  grave  : 

The  coals  thereof  are  coals  of  fire, 

Which  hath  a  most  vehement  flame. 

Many  waters  cannot  quench  love, 

Neither  can  the  floods  drown  it : 

If  a  man  would  give  all  the  substance  of  his  house  for 

love. 
It  would  utterly  be  contemned. 


IV 


The  music  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  is  heard  again 
in  one  of  the  Psalms  (45.)  The  occasion  is  a  royal 
wedding.  The  poet  begins  with  a  word  of  introduc- 
tion. 

My  heart  is  inditing  a  good  matter : 

I  speak  of  the  things  which  I  have  made  touching  the 

king: 
My  tongue  is  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer. 

He  addresses  the  royal  bridegroom : 

Thou  art  fairer  than  the  children  of  men : 

Grace  is  poured  into  thy  lips : 

Therefore  God  hath  blessed  thee  for  ever. 

Gird  thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh,  O  most  mighty. 

With  thy  glory  and  thy  majesty. 

And  in  thy  majesty  ride  prosperously, 

Because  of  truth  and  meekness  and  righteousness ; 

And  thy  right  hand  shall  teach  thee  terrible  things. 

Thine  arrows  are  sharp ; — peoples  fall  under  thee ; 

They  are  in  the  heart  of  the  king's  enemies. 

Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever : 

The  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  is  a  right  sceptre. 

Thou  lovest  righteousness,  and  hatest  wickedness : 


THE    POETS  181 

Therefore  God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee 
With  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows. 
All  thy  garments  smell  of  myrrh,  and  aloes,  and  cassia, 
Out  of  the  ivory  palaces  music  hath  made  thee  glad. 
Kings'  daughters  were  among  thy  honourable  women : 
Upon  thy  right  hand  did  stand  the  queen  in  gold  of 
Ophir. 

Then  the  royal  bride : 

Hearken,  O  daughter,  and  consider,  and  incline  thine 

ear; 
Forget  also  thine  own  people,  and  thy  father's  house ; 
So  shall  the  king  greatly  desire  thy  beauty : 
For  he  is  thy  Lord ;  and  worship  thou  him. 
And  the  daughter  of  Tyre  shall  be  there  with  a  gift  ; 
Even  the  rich  among  the  people  shall  intreat  thy  favour. 

He  describes  the  wedding  procession : 

The  king's  daughter  is  all  glorious  within : 
Her  clothing  is  of  wrought  gold. 
She  shall  be  brought  unto  the  king  in  raiment  of  needle- 
work: 
The  virgins  her  companions  that  follow  her 
Shall  be  brought  unto  thee. 

With  gladness  and  rejoicing  shall  they  be  brought: 
They  shall  enter  into  the  king's  palace. 

The  poet  adds  a  word  in  conclusion : 

Instead  of  thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children. 

Whom  thou  mayest  make  princes  in  all  the  earth. 

I  will  make  thy  name  to  be  remembered  in  all  genera- 
tions : 

Therefore  shall  the  people  praise  thee  for  ever  and 
ever. 


182        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Here,  indeed,  are  myrrh,  aloes  and  cassia,  and  cloth- 
ing of  wrought  gold,  and  music  heard  in  ivory  palaces, 
but  the  tone  of  this  wedding  anthem  is  quite  different 
from  anything  in  the  Song  of  Solomon.  The  hero  and 
heroine  are  thought  of  as  king  and  queen,  not  as  man 
and  woman;  and  instead  of  love  we  have  dignity  and 
official  responsibility,  truth  and  meekness  and  right- 
eousness. This  is  characteristic  of  all  of  the  Psalms, 
which  are  poems  of  religion. 

The  grief  and  tragic  perplexity  of  Lamentations  is 
found  in  some  of  the  Psalms]  but  these  poets  are  not  in 
despair,  they  have  hope  and  faith,  they  have  found  a 
solution  of  the  problem  of  pain. 

Fret  not  thyself  because  of  evildoers, 

Neither  be  thou  envious  against  the  workers  of  iniquity. 

For  they  shall  soon  be  cut  down  like  the  grass. 

And  wither  as  the  green  herb. 

Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do  good ; 

So  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be 

fed. 
Delight  thyself  also  in  the  Lord ; 
And  he  shall  give  thee  the  desires  of  thine  heart. 
Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord ; 
Trust  also  in  him ;  and  he  shall  bring  it  to  pass. 
And  he  shall  bring  forth  thy  righteousness  as  the  light, 
And  thy  judgment  as  the  noonday. 
Rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait  patiently  for  him : 
Fret  not  thyself  because  of  him  who  prospereth  in  his 

way. 
Because  of  the  man  who  bringeth  wicked  devices  to  pass. 
Cease  from  anger,  and  forsake  wrath : 
Fret  not  thyself  in  any  wise  to  do  evil. 
For  evildoers  shall  be  cut  off : 
But  those  that  wait  upon  the  Lord,  they  shall  inherit  the 

earth. 


THE    POETS  183 

For  yet  a  little  while,  and  the  wicked  shall  not  be : 

Yea,  thou  shalt  diligently  consider  his  place,  and  it  shall 

not  be. 
But  the  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth ; 
And  shall  delight  themselves  in  the  abundance  of  peace. 

Even  v^hen  the  situation  is  like  that  which  is  be- 
wailed in  Lamentations,  there  is  still  the  expectation 
that  God  will  come  in  his  mighty  power  to  the  relief  of 
the  faithful.  The  Seventy-fourth  Psalm  seems  to  have 
been  written  when  Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  making 
that  attempt  to  destroy  the  Jewish  religion  which  gave 
occasion  for  the  book  of  Daniel.  The  people  are  in 
deep  distress,  the  holy  temple  is  beaten  down  and 
burned. 

O  God,  why  hast  thou  cast  us  ofif  for  ever? 

Why  doth  thine  anger  smoke  against  the  sheep  of  thy 

pasture  ? 
Remember  thy  congregation,  which  thou  has  purchased 

of  old ; 
The  rod  of  thine  inheritance,  which  thou  hast  redeemed ; 
This  mount  Zion,  wherein  thou  hast  dwelt. 
Lift  up  thy  feet  unto  the  perpetual  desolations ; 
All  that  the  enemy  hath  done  wickedly  in  the  sanctuary. 
Thine  enemies  roar  in  the  midst  of  thy  congregations; 
They  set  up  their  ensigns  for  signs. 
It  seems  as  though  one  lifted  up  on  high 
Axes  against  the  thickets  of  the  wood. 
And  now  they  break  down  the  carved  work  thereof  at 

once 
With  axes  and  hammers. 
They  have  cast  fire  into  thy  sanctuary, 
They  have  defiled  the  dwelling  place  of  thy  name  to  the 

ground. 
They  said  in  their  hearts: — "Let  us  destroy  them  to* 

gether :" 


184        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

They  have  burned  up  all  the  synagogues  of  God  in  the 

land. 
We  see  not  our  signs : 
There  is  no  more  any  prophet : 

Neither  is  there  among  us  any  that  knoweth  how  long. 
O  God,  how  long  shall  the  adversary  reproach  ? 
Shall  the  enemy  blaspheme  thy  name  for  ever  ? 
Why  withdrawest  thou  thy  hand,  even  thy  right  hand  ? 
Pluck  it  out  of  thy  bosom. 

But  the  Lord  God  is  the  maker  and  ruler  of  the 
earth. 

For  God  is  my  King  of  old, 

Working  salvation  in  the  midst  of  the  earth. 

Thou  didst  divide  the  sea  by  thy  strength : 

Thou  brakest  the  heads  of  the  dragons  in  the  waters.' 

Thou  brakest  the  heads  of  leviathan  in  pieces, 

And  gavest  him  to  be  meat  to  the  people  inhabiting  the 

wilderness. 
Thou  didst  cleave  the  fountain  and  the  flood : 
Thou  driedst  up  mighty  rivers. 
The  day  is  thine,  the  night  also  is  thine : 
Thou  hast  prepared  the  light  and  the  sun. 
Thou  hast  set  all  the  borders  of  the  earth : 
Thou  hast  made  summer  and  winter. 


To  him  we  make  our  prayer. 

Remember  this,  that  the  enemy  hath  reproached,  O  Lord, 

;And  that  the  foolish  people  have  blasphemed  thy  name. 

O  deliver  not  the  soul  of  thy  turtledove  unto  the  greedy 

i        multitude : 

Forget  not  the  congregation  of  thy  poor  for  ever. 

Have  respect  unto  the  covenant : 

For  the  dark  places  of  the  earth  are  full  of  the  habitations 

of  cruelty. 
O  let  not  the  oppressed  return  ashamed : 


THE    POETS  185 

Let  the  poor  and  needy  praise  thy  name. 
Arise,  O  God,  plead  thine  own  cause : 
Remember  how  the  foolish  man  reproacheth  thee  daily. 
Forget  not  the  voice  of  thine  enemies : 
The  tumult  of  those  that  rise  up  against  thee  increaseth 
continually. 

The  book  of  Psalms  is  in  five  volumes,  the  end  of 
each  being  marked  by  a  doxology.  Thus  after  the 
Forty-first  Psalm. 

Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 
From  everlasting,  and  to  everlasting. 
Amen,  and  Amen. 

And  after  the  Seventy-second  Psalm. 

Blessed  be  the  Lord  God,  the  God  of  Israel, 
Who  only  doeth  wondrous  things. 
And  blessed  be  his  glorious  name  for  ever : 
And  let  the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  his  glory ; 
Amen,  and  Amen. 

A  like  doxology  closes  the  Eighty-ninth  and  the 
One-hundred-and-sixth  Psalms;  the  One-hundred-and- 
fiftieth  Psalm  is  itself  a  doxology. 

The  First  Book  is  made  up  mainly  of  Personal 
Lyrics.  Whether  as  speaking  the  thoughts  of  his  own 
experience,  or  as  representing  the  mind  of  his  people, 
the  psalmist  is  in  soliloquy.  The  Second  Book  is  made 
up  largely  of  National  Lyrics.  This  is  true  also  of  the 
Third  Book.  In  these  poems  the  writer  deals  with  the 
glories  and  with  the  distresses  of  the  nation.  In  the 
Fourth  and  in  the  Fifth  Books  there  are  Liturgical 


186        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

Lyrics,  related  to  the  service  of  the  temple,  or  to  occa- 
sions of  fasts  and  festivals. 

Behind  these  five  collections  scholars  find  traces 
of  older  hymn-books  out  of  which  they  were  made. 
These  are  indicated  in  the  names  of  Asaph,  of  Korah, 
and  of  David. 

In  the  description  of  the  service  at  the  dedication 
of  the  restored  temple  after  the  exile  {Ezra  3 :10)  the 
"sons  of  Asaph"  are  in  the  choir.    *'When  the  builders 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  they  set 
the  priests  in  their  apparel  with  trumpets,  and  the 
Levites  the  sons  of  Asaph  with  cymbals,  to  praise  the 
Lord,  after  the  ordinance  of  David  king  of  Israel,  and 
they  sang  together  by  course  in  praising  and  giving 
thanks  unto  the  Lord,  because  he  is  good,  for  his  mercy 
endureth  forever  toward  Israel."    (Compare  Ps,  136.) 
The  sons  of  Korah,  the  Korhites  (//  Chron.  20:19) 
are  mentioned  in  the  reign  of  Jehoshaphat  as  those  who 
"stood  up  to  praise  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  with  a  loud 
voice  on  high."     Ethan  is  spoken  of  as  a  singer  (/ 
Chron.  15  :19)  in  a  description  of  the  bringing  of  the 
ark  to  Jerusalem :    "So  the  singers,  Heman,  Asaph  and 
Ethan  were  appointed  to  sound  with  cymbals  of  brass." 
In  the  Second  Book,  42-49  are  entitled  "of  the  sons  of 
Korah."    The  inference  is  that  there  were  collections 
of  psalms  in  use  by  different  guilds  of  singers  in  the 
second  temple,  that  some  psalms  were  taken  into  the 
Second  Book  from  the  Korah  book,  and  others  from 
the  Korah  book  and  from  the  Asaph  book  were  used 
to  make  the  Third  Book.     The  title  "of  the  Chief 
Musician,"  in  a  number  of  psalms,  may  indicate  aUr 


THE    POETS  187 

other  collection;  also  the  title  "Psalms  of  Ascents" 
(120-134). 

The  collection  from  which  the  largest  number  of 
psalms  were  taken  (seventy-three  in  all)  is  entitled  "of 
David."  Probably  this  title,  as  in  the  case  of  Asaph 
and  Korah,  refers  to  a  hymn-book  of  that  name.  The 
use  of  the  name  accords,  indeed,  with  the  account  of 
David  as  a  skilful  player  on  the  harp,  and  as  a  composer 
of  poems  in  honor  of  Saul  and  of  Abner;  and  Jewish 
editors  have  noted  in  the  case  of  a  number  of  the 
psalms  a  statement  of  the  circumstances  under  which 
they  believed  David  to  have  written  them.  It  would 
be  pleasant  to  hear  the  voice  of  David  the  shepherd  in 
the  Twenty-third  Psalm,  and  of  David  the  penitent  in 
the  Fifty-First.  For  the  most  part,  however,  these 
traditions  are  of  little  value,  and  add  nothing  to  our 
understanding  of  the  psalms.  In  this  respect  the  He- 
brew psalms  are  like  the  Christian  hymns,  w^hich  are 
sung  for  their  own  sake,  their  authorship  being  of  in- 
terest only  to  literary  persons  for  literary  reasons. 

Musical  directions  accompanying  many  of  the 
psalms  show  that  they  were  intended  to  be  sung,  some- 
times with  stringed  instruments,  as  the  harp,  neginoth 
(4,  6,  and  others),  sometimes  with  wind  instruments, 
as  the  flute  or  the  trumpet,  neJiiloth  (5).  Instruments 
of  percussion,  as  cymbals,  are  often  mentioned.  In 
some  cases  the  tunes  are  given:  "the  hind  of  the 
morning"  (22)  "the  hlies"  (45).  Thus  they  were 
sung  in  the  temple,  for  whose  service,  after  the  exile, 
the  various  collections  were  brought  together,  old  and 
new,  to  make  the  completed  book. 


188        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Some  of  the  psalms  are  alphabet  acrostics,  notably  the 
One-hundred-and-nineteenthj  each  of  whose  first  eight 
verses  begins  with  the  Hebrew  A,  the  next  with  B,  As 
in  all  collections  of  hymns,  some  are  better  than  others, 
in  interest,  in  literary  form,  in  the  ideas  which  they 
express.  In  some  psalms  the  poet  curses  his  enemies 
(58,  69)  ;  in  some  he  speaks  without  expectation  of 
individual  immortality :  *ln  death  there  is  no  remem- 
brance of  thee'*  (6:5),  "What  profit  is  there  in  my 
blood,  when  I  go  down  to  the  pit?  Shall  the  dust 
praise  thee  ?  Shall  it  declare  thy  truth ?"  ( 30 :9) .  So 
devout,  however,  is  the  spirit  of  the  Psalms,  so  filled 
with  the  consciousness  of  God,  with  the  sense  of  sin 
and  of  the  divine  pardon  of  the  penitent,  with  the  in- 
evitable grief  of  life  and  with  the  divine  compassion, 
that  Christians  as  well  as  Jews  find  in  them  the  express 
sion  of  their  own  praise  and  prayer. 


XII 

THE  WISE  MEN 

WHEN  the  hero  of  the  book  of  Job  is  in  the  midst 
of  his  misfortunes,  and  his  distress  is  increased 
by  the  distrust  and  disrespect  of  his  neighbors,  he  re- 
calls the  departed  happiness  of  the  days  when  his  fel- 
low-citizens honored  him  as  a  Wise  Man. 

Oh  that  I  were  as  in  months  past, 
As  in  the  days  when  God  preserved  me ; 
When  his  candle  shined  upon  my  head, 
And  when  by  his  light  I  walked  through  darkness ; 
As  I  was  in  the  days  of  my  youth, 
When  the  secret  of  God  was  upon  my  tabernacle ; 
When  the  Almighty  was  yet  with  me. 
When  my  children  were  about  me ; 
When  I  washed  my  steps  with  butter, 
And  the  rock  poured  me  out  rivers  of  oil ; 
When  I  went  out  to  the  gate  through  the  city, 
When  I  prepared  my  seat  in  the  street ! 
The  young  men  saw  me,  and  hid  themselves : 
And  the  aged  arose,  and  stood  up. 
The  princes  refrained  talking, 
And  laid  their  hand  on  their  mouth. 
The  nobles  held  their  peace. 

And  their  tongue  cleaved  to  the  roof  of  their  mouth. 
When  the  ear  heard  me,  then  it  blessed  me ; 
And  when  the  eye  saw  me,  it  gave  witness  to  me : 
Because  I  delivered  the  poor  that  cried. 
And  the  fatherless,  and  him  that  had  none  to  help 
him. 

189 


190        HOW    TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

The  blessing  of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came 

upon  me : 
And  I  caused  the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy. 
I  put  on  righteousness,  and  it  clothed  me: 
My  judgment  was  as  a  robe  and  a  diadem. 
I  was  eyes  to  the  blind, 
And  feet  was  I  to  the  lame. 
I  was  a  father  to  the  poor : 
And  the  cause  which  I  knew  not  I  searched  out. 
And  I  brake  the  jaws  of  the  wicked, 
And  plucked  the  spoil  out  of  his  teeth. 
Then  I  said,  "I  shall  die  in  my  nest, 
And  I  shall  multiply  my  days  as  the  sand. 
My  root  is  spread  out  by  the  waters, 
And  the  dew  lieth  all  night  upon  my  branch. 
My  glory  is  fresh  in  me, 
And  my  bow  is  renewed  in  my  hand." 
Unto  me  men  gave  ear,  and  waited. 
And  kept  silence  at  my  counsel. 
After  my  words  they  spake  not  again  ; 
And  my  speech  dropped  upon  them. 
And  they  waited  for  me  as  for  the  rain ; 
And  they  opened  their  mouth  wide  as  for  the  latter 

rain. 
If  I  laughed  on  them,  they  believed  it  not ; 
And  the  light  of  my  countenance  they  cast  not  down. 
I  chose  out  their  way,  and  sat  chief, 
And  dwelt  as  a  king  in  the  army. 
As  one  that  comforteth  the  mourners. 

The  intimate  and  leisurely  conditions  of  oriental 
life  gave  opportunity  to  the  Wise  Man.  The  men  of 
the  neighborhood  met  every  day  at  the  village  gate,  and 
there  sat  and  talked.  They  discussed  the  infinite 
aspects  of  human  life,  and  added  appropriate  morals 
to  the  narratives  of  local  events.  The  seniors  gave  the 
juniors  good  advice.  Each  community  had  its  own 
oracle,  who  held  his  place,  in  part  by  virtue  of  his 


THE    WISE    MEN  191 

years,  but  chiefly  because  of  his  gifts  of  observation 
and  expression.  Such  philosophers,  under  hke  condi- 
tions, were  influential  in  the  early  history  of  New  Eng- 
land. It  accounts,  in  some  measure,  for  the  similarity 
between  the  Proverbs  and  the  shrewd  sayings  oi  Poor 
Richard's  Aknmiac. 

The  Wise  Men  did  not  lay  claim  to  any  special  in- 
spiration. The  chapters  of  their  collected  sayings  do 
not  begin  with  the  prophetic  formula,  "Thus  saith  the 
Lord."  Whatever  wisdom  they  had  came  from  ex- 
perience, and  consisted  in  their  understanding  of  hu- 
man nature.  Their  philosophy  was  practical,  rather 
than  speculative.  They  looked  out  rather  than  in,  and 
did  not  concern  themselves  with  the  processes  of  think- 
ing. They  did  not  w^atch  the  workings  of  their  minds. 
Their  interest  was  not  in  the  abstract,  but  in  the  con- 
crete. They  cared  for  things,  not  for  the  "thingness 
of  things." 

I 

The  wisdom  of  the  Wise  Men  appears  in  its  simplest 
form  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  which  is  composed  of 
several  collections  of  wise  sayings.  It  opens  with  the 
Praise  of  Wisdom. 

My  son,  forget  not  my  law; 

But  let  thine  heart  keep  my  commandments : 

For  length  of  days,  and  long  life, 

And  peace,  shall  they  add  to  thee. 

Let  not  mercy  and  truth  forsake  thee : 

Bind  them  about  thy  neck  ; 

Write  them  upon  the  table  of  thine  heart : 

So  shalt  thou  find  favour  and  good  understanding 


192        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

In  the  sight  of  God  and  man. 

Trust  In  the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart ; 

And  lean  not  unto  thine  own  understanding. 

In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him, 

And  he  shall  direct  thy  paths. 

Be  not  wise  in  thine  own  eyes : 

Fear  the  Lord,  and  depart  from  evil. 

Happy  is  the  man  that  findeth  wisdom, 

And  the  man  that  getteth  understanding. 

For  the  merchandise  of  it  is  better  than  the  merchan- 
dise of  silver. 

And  the  gain  thereof  than  fine  gold. 

She  is  more  precious  than  rubies : 

And  all  the  things  thou  canst  desire  are  not  to  be 
compared  unto  her. 

Length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand ; 

And  in  her  left  hand  riches  and  honour. 

Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness, 

And  all  her  paths  are  peace. 

She  is  a  tree  of  life  to  them  that  lay  hold  upon  her; 

And  happy  is  every  one  that  retaineth  her. 

Then  the  proverbs  begin,  with  the  tenth  chapter. 
First,  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  ascribed  to  him,  or 
collected  by  him,  or  assembled  under  the  patronage  of 
his  great  name;  like  the  Psalms  of  David.  Then  the 
Words  of  the  Wise,  (22:17).  Here  the  poetic  form 
changes  from  the  couplet  to  the  double  couplet. 

Bow  down  thine  ear,  and  hear  the  words  of  the  wise, 

And  apply  thine  heart  unto  my  knowledge. 

For  it  is  a  pleasant  thing  if  thou  keep  them  within 

thee; 
They  shall  withal  be  fitted  in  thy  lips. 

Rob  not  the  poor,  because  he  Is  poor : 
Neither  oppress  the  afflicted  in  the  gate : 
For  the  Lord  will  plead  their  cause, 
And  spoil  the  soul  of  those  that  spoiled  them. 


THE   WISE    MEN  193 

Make  no  friendship  with  an  angry  man ; 
And  with  a  furious  man  thou  shalt  not  go : 
Lest  thou  learn  his  ways, 
And  get  a  snare  to  thy  soul. 

With  an  added  group,  entitled,  "These  are  also  the 
Sayings  of  the  Wise"  (24:23).  And  after  this,  an- 
other collection  with  the  heading  (25:1).  **These  are 
also  Proverbs  of  Solomon  which  the  men  of  Hezekiah 
copied  out."  The  next-to-the-last  chapter  contains  the 
Words  of  Agiir;  and  the  last  chapter  begins  with  the 
Words  of  Lemuel  J  and  ends  with  the  poem  of  the  /w- 
dusfrious  Housewife. 

The  wisdom  of  the  Wise  Men,  as  it  is  recorded  in 
this  book,  is  independent  of  time  and  place.  The  fact 
that  nobody  knows  anything  about  Agur  or  Lemuel 
does  not  detract  from  the  sayings  which  appear  under 
their  names.  The  prayer  of  Agur  is  commended  not 
by  its  authorship  but  by  its  own  modest  spirit. 

Two  things  have  I  required  of  thee; 
Deny  me  them  not  before  I  die : 
Remove  far  from  me  vanity  and  lies: 
Give  me  neither  poverty  nor  riches ; 
Feed  me  with  food  convenient  for  me : 
Lest  I  be  full,  and  deny  thee,  and  say : — 

"Who  is  the  Lord?'' 
Or  lest  I  be  poor,  and  steal, 
And  take  the  name  of  my  God  in  vain. 

The  curious  advice  of  the  mother  of  King  Lemuel 
would  be  no  less  curious  if  we  knew  when  or  where  he 
reigned.  The  "upper  classes,"  she  says,  should  be  total 
abstainers ;  but  the  "lower  classes"  need  the  solace  of 
strong  drink. 


194        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

It  IS  not  for  kings,  O  Lemuel,  it  is  not  for  kings  to 

drink  wine; 
Nor  for  princes  strong  drink ; 
Lest  they  drink,  and  forget  the  law, 
And  pervert  the  judgment  of  any  of  the  afflicted. 
Give  strong  drink  unto  him  that  is  ready  to  perish, 
And  wine  unto  those  that  be  of  heavy  hearts. 
Let  him  drink,  and  forget  his  poverty, 
And  remember  his  misery  no  more. 

Likewise,  the  name  of  Solomon  brings  no  interpre- 
tation to  the  proverbs  which  are  ascribed  to  him.  Not 
one  of  them  would  gain  anything  by  a  decision  of 
scholars  that  Solomon  wrote  every  one  of  them  with 
his  own  hand.  Not  one  of  them  would  lose  anything 
by  a  decision  of  scholars  to  date  them  in  the  second 
century  B.  C.  Some,  no  doubt,  are  very  old,  and  may 
have  long  preceded  Solomon ;  others  are  not  so  old ;  but 
they  all  agree  in  a  certain  quality  of  timelessness  which 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  are  concerned  with  our  un- 
changing human  nature. 

For  example,  there  is  neither  early  nor  late,  nor 
east  nor  west,  in  the  descriptions  which  the  Proverbs 
give  of  the  sluggard. 

The  slothful  man  saith : — "There  is  a  lion  inthe  way ; 

A  lion  is  in  the  streets." 

As  the  door  turneth  upon  its  hinges, 

So  doth  the  slothful  upon  his  bed. 

The  slothful  hideth  his  hand  in  his  bosom  ; 

It  grieveth  him  to  bring  it  again  to  his  mouth. 

The  sluggard  is  wiser  in  his  own  conceit 

Than  seven  men  that  can  render  a  reason. 

Go  to  the  ant,  thou  sluggard ; 
Consider  her  ways,  and  be  wise : 
Which  having  no  guide. 


THE    WISE    MEN  195 

Overseer,  or  ruler, 
Provideth  her  meat  in  the  summer, 
And  gathereth  her  food  in  the  harvest. 
How  long  wilt  thou  sleep,  O  sluggard? 
When  wilt  thou  arise  out  of  thy  sleep? 
Yet  a  little  sleep,  a  little  slumber, 
A  little  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep : 
So  shall  thy  poverty  come  as  a  robber, 
And  thy  want  as  an  armed  man. 

And  again,  with  the  same  refrain. 

I  went  by  the  field  of  the  slothful. 
And  by  the  vineyard  of  the  man  void  of  understand- 
ing; 
And,  lo,  it  was  all  grown  over  with  thorns, 
And  nettles  had  covered  the  face  thereof. 
And  the  stone  wall  thereof  was  broken  down. 
Then  I  saw,  and  considered  it  well: 
I  looked  upon  it,  and  received  instruction. 
Yet  a  little  sleep,  a  little  slumber, 
A  little  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep : 
So  shall  thy  poverty  come  as  one  that  travelleth ; 
And  thy  want  as  an  armed  man. 

The  fool  who  scorns  instruction  and  reproof;  the 
tale-bearer  who  destroys  the  peace  of  neighborhoods; 
the  rich  who  oppress  the  poor;  the  merchant  whose 
balances  are  false  and  his  weights  deceitful ;  the  buyer 
who  said  "It  is  naught,  it  is  naught,  but  when  he  is 
gone  his  way,  he  boasteth;"  these  universal  persons 
the  Wise  Men  notice,  sometimes  with  indignation, 
sometimes  with  contemptuous  amusement. 

The  Wise  Man  is  emphatic  in  his  reprobation  of 
strong  drink. 

Wine  is  a  mocker,  strong  drink  is  raging : 
And  whosoever  is  deceived  thereby  is  not  wise. 


196        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Hear  thou,  my  son,  and  be  wise. 
And  guide  thine  heart  in  the  way. 
Be  not  among  winebibbers ; 
Among  riotous  eaters  of  flesh : 

For  the  drunkard  and  the  glutton  shall  come  to  pov- 
erty: 
And  drowsiness  shall  clothe  a  man  with  rags. 

Who  hath  woe?  who  hath  sorrow?  who  hath  con- 
tentions ? 

Who  hath  babbling?  who  hath  wounds  without 
cause  ? 

Who  hath  redness  of  eyes? 

They  that  tarry  long  at  the  wine ; 

They  that  go  to  seek  mixed  wine. 

Look  not  thou  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red, 

When  it  giveth  its  colour  in  the  cup, 

When  it  goeth  down  smoothly. 

At  the  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent, 

And  stingeth  like  an  adder. 

The  Wise  Man  addresses  himself  to  men.  "My 
son,"  he  says;  never  taking  into  account  his  wife  or 
his  daughter.  For  the  most  part,  in  the  Proverbs, 
women  are  regarded  as  temptations  or  as  vexations. 
There  is  abundant  warning  against  immoral  women, 
and  there  are  many  impatient  and  amusing  remarks 
about  contentious  women.  At  the  same  time,  the  ad- 
vice of  mothers  is  put  on  a  level  of  value  with  the 
advice  of  fathers,  and  the  book  ends  with  a  poem  (an- 
other alphabet  acrostic)  in  praise  of  a  good  woman. 

Who  can  find  a  virtuous  woman? 

For  her  price  is  far  above  rubies. 

The  heart  of  her  husband  doth  safely  trust  in  her. 

So  that  he  shall  have  no  need  of  spoil. 


THE   WISE   MEN  197 

She  will  do  him  good  and  not  evil 
All  the  days  of  her  life. 
She  seeketh  wool,  and  flax, 
And  worketh  willingly  w^ith  her  hands. 
She  is  like  the  merchants'  ships ; 
She  bringeth  her  food  from  afar. 
She  riseth  also  while  it  is  yet  night, 
And  giveth  meat  to  her  household 
And  a  portion  to  her  maidens. 
She  considereth  a  field,  and  buyeth  it : 
With  the  fruit  of  her  hands  she  planteth  a  vineyard. 
She  girdeth  her  loins  with  strength, 
And  strengtheneth  her  arms. 
She  perceiveth  that  her  merchandise  is  good : 
Her  candle  goeth  not  out  by  night. 
She  layeth  her  hands  to  the  spindle, 
And  her  hands  hold  the  distaff. 
She  stretcheth  out  her  hand  to  the  poor ; 
Yea,  she  reacheth  forth  her  hands  to  the  needy. 
She  is  not  afraid  of  the  snow  for  her  household : 
For  all  her  household  are  clothed  with  scarlet. 
She  maketh  herself  coverings  of  tapestry ; 
Her  clothing  is  silk  and  purple. 
Her  husband  is  known  in  the  gates, 
When  he  sitteth  among  the  elders  of  the  land. 
She  maketh  fine  linen,  and  selleth  it ; 
And  delivereth  girdles  unto  the  merchant. 
Strength  and  honour  are  her  clothing ; 
And  she  shall  rejoice  in  time  to  come. 
She  openeth  her  mouth  with  wisdom ; 
And  in  her  tongue  is  the  law  of  kindness. 
She  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household. 
And  eateth  not  the  bread  of  idleness. 
Her  children  arise  up,  and  call  her  blessed ; 
Her  husband  also,  and  he  praiseth  her. 
Many  daughters  have  done  virtuously, 
But  thou  excellest  them  all. 
Favour  is  deceitful,  and  beauty  is  vain : 
But  a  woman  that  feareth  the  Lord,  she  shall  be 
praised. 


198        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Give  her  of  the  fruit  of  her  hands ; 

And  let  her  own  works  praise  her  in  the  gates. 

The  counsels  of  the  Wise  Men  are  expressed  irt 
terms  of  piety,  but  also  in  terms  of  prudence.  Their 
philosophy  of  life  is  that  of  Deuteronomy :  they  who  do 
ill  shall  suffer  for  it,  they  who  do  well  shall  have  the 
blessing  of  prosperity. 

Fear  the  Lord,  and  depart  from  evil. 

It  shall  be  health  to  thy  navel, 

And  marrow  to  thy  bones. 

Honour  the  Lord  with  thy  substance, 

And  with  the  firstfruits  of  all  thine  increase: 

So  shall  thy  barns  be  filled  with  plenty. 

And  thy  presses  shall  burst  out  with  new  wine. 

The  difficulty  with  this  philosophy  is  that  it  is  con- 
tradicted by  experience :  not  by  experience  in  general, 
for  on  the  whole  our  happiness  and  unhappiness  are 
fairly  proportioned  to  our  deserts ;  but  by  experience  in 
particular,  by  such  an  amount  of  exception  to  the  Wise 
Man's  rule  of  life  to  bring  us  into  grave  doubt  about  it. 
Concerning  the  virtues  which  are  emphasized  in  the 
Proverbs  we  may  say  with  assurance  that  they  lead 
normally  to  prosperity  and  peace;  but  not  always. 
Sometimes  the  saint  comes  tragically  short  of  his  log- 
ical reward.  It  is  to  this  perplexity  that  the  Wise  Men 
address  themselves  in  two  other  books  of  Wisdom, 
Job  and  Ecclesiastes,  In  Job,  the  good  man  is  de- 
prived of  all  the  good  things  of  life;  in  Ecclesiastes, 
he  has  them  all  to  the  full,  but  they  do  not  give  him 
satisfaction. 


THE    WISE   MEN  199 


The  writer  of  Ecclesiastes  begins  his  book  with  the 
apparent  intention  of  impersonating  the  chief  of  all 
the  Wise  Men,  King  Solomon:  *'The  words  of  the 
Preacher,  the  son  of  David,  king  in  Jerusalem."  Thus, 
speaking  as  Solomon,  (as  Brow^ning,  for  example,  in 
A  Death  in  the  Desert,  speaks  as  the  Apostle  John,) 
and  looking  back  from  the  quiet  of  retirement  upon  a 
reign  now  ended  ('T  was  king  over  Israel  in  Jerusa- 
lem") he  recalls  the  splendors  of  his  court. 

I  made  me  great  works  ;  I  builded  me  houses ;  I  planted 
me  vineyards :  I  made  me  gardens  and  orchards,  and  I 
planted  trees  in  them  of  all  kind  of  fruits :  I  made  me 
pools  of  water,  to  water  therewith  the  wood  that  bringeth 
forth  trees :  I  got  me  servants  and  maidens,  and  had 
servants  born  in  my  house;  also  I  had  great  possessions 
of  great  and  small  cattle  above  all  that  were  in  Jerusalem 
before  me:  I  gathered  me  also  silver  and  gold,  and  the 
peculiar  treasure  of  kings  and  of  the  provinces :  I  gat  me 
men  singers  and  women  singers,  and  the  delights  of  the 
sons  of  men,  as  musical  instruments,  and  that  of  all  sorts. 
So  I  was  great,  and  increased  more  than  all  that  were 
before  me  in  Jerusalem :  also  my  wisdom  remained  with 
me.  And  whatsoever  mine  eyes  desired  I  kept  not  from 
them,  I  withheld  not  my  heart  from  any  joy;  for  my 
heart  rejoiced  in  all  my  labour :  and  this  was  my  portion 
of  all  my  labour.  Then  I  looked  on  all  the  works  that  my 
hands  had  wrought,  and  on  the  labour  that  I  had  la- 
boured to  do :  and,  behold,  all  was  vanity  and  vexation 
of  spirit,  and  there  was  no  profit  under  the  sun. 

At  this  point,  however,  the  writer  abandons  the  mask 
ofSolomon,  and  speaks  thenceforward  for  himself. 
He  had  represented  Solomon  as  having  abdicated  hi§ 


200        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

royal  state,  a  surrender  of  which  there  is  no  trace  in 
history;  and  he  had  made  him  say,  "I  have  gotten  me 
more  wisdom  than  all  they  that  have  been  before  me 
in  Jerusalem,"  a  remark  which  seems  to  imply  an  occu- 
pation of  that  city  by  several  generations  of  ancestors, 
instead  of  by  his  father  only,  who  took  it  from  the 
Jebusites.  The  relation  of  Solomon  to  the  succeeding 
chapters  is  as  remote  as  that  of  a  pictured  saint  in  an 
illuminated  missal  to  the  psalm  of  the  Breviary  which 
he  is  made  to  decorate. 

The  Preacher,  as  he  calls  himself,  has  lived  long 
enough  to  be  able  to  write  with  sympathetic  under- 
standing of  the  weakness  of  old  age. 

Rejoice,  O  young  man,  in  thy  youth ;  and  let  thy  heart 
cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  walk  in  the  ways 
of  thine  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes :  but  know 
thou,  that  for  all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into 
judgment.  Therefore  remove  sorrow  from  thy  heart, 
and  put  away  evil  from  thy  flesh:  for  childhood  and 
youth  are  vanity.  Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the 
days  of  thy  youth,  while  the  evil  days  come  not,  nor  the 
years  draw  nigh,  when  thou  shalt  say : — 'T  have  no  pleas- 
ure in  them;"  while  the  sun,  or  the  light,  or  the  moon, 
or  the  stars,  be  not  darkened,  nor  the  clouds  return  after 
the  rain :  in  the  day  when  the  keepers  of  the  house  shall 
tremble,  and  the  strong  men  shall  bow  themselves,  and 
the  grinders  cease  because  they  are  few,  and  those  that 
look  out  of  the  windows  be  darkened,  and  the  doors  shall 
be  shut  in  the  streets,  when  the  sound  of  the  grinding  is 
low,  and  he  shall  rise  up  at  the  voice  of  the  bird,  and  all 
the  daughters  of  music  shall  be  brought  low ;  also  when 
they  shall  be  afraid  of  that  which  Is  high,  and  fears  shall  ^ 
be  in  the  way,  and  the  almond  tree  shall  flourish,  and  the 
grasshopper  shall  be  a  burden,  and  desire  shall  fail :  be- 
cause man  goeth  to  his  long  home,  and  the  mourners  go 


THE   WISE    MEN  201 

about  the  streets:  or  ever  the  silver  cord  be  loosed,  or 
the  golden  bowl  be  broken,  or  the  pitcher  be  broken  at 
the  fountain,  or  the  wheel  broken  at  the  cistern.  Then 
shall  the  dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was :  and  the  spirit 
shall  return  unto  God  who  gave  it.  Vanity  of  vanities, 
saith  the  Preacher ;  all  is  vanity. 

Thus  he  repeats  for  the  last  time  the  recurring  re- 
frain of  the  book.  His  subject  is  the  emptiness  of 
human  life.  He  begins  by  declaring  that  life  is  hope- 
lessly monotonous.  There  is  nothing  new  tinder  the 
sun. 

Vanity  of  vanities,  saith  the  Preacher,  vanity  of 
vanities ;  all  is  vanity.  What  profit  hath  a  man  of  all 
his  labour  which  he  taketh  under  the  sun?  One  genera- 
tion passeth  away,  and  another  generation  cometh:  but 
the  earth  abideth  for  ever.  The  sun  also  ariseth,  and  the 
sun  goeth  down,  and  hasteth  to  its  place  where  it  arose. 
The  wind  goeth  toward  the  south,  and  turneth  about 
unto  the  north;  it  whirleth  about  continually,  and  the 
wind  returneth  again  according  to  its  circuits.  All  the 
rivers  run  into  the  sea ;  yet  the  sea  is  not  full ;  unto  the 
place  from  whence  the  rivers  come,  thither  they  return 
again.  All  things  are  full  of  labour ;  man  cannot  utter  it : 
the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  filled  with 
hearing.  The  thing  that  hath  been,  it  is  that  which  shall 
be ;  and  that  which  is  done  is  that  which  shall  be  done : 
and  there  is  no  new  thing  under  the  sun.  Is  there  any 
thing  whereof  it  may  be  said: — "See,  this  is  new"?  it 
hath  been  already  of  old  time,  which  was  before  us. 
There  is  no  remembrance  of  former  things ;  neither  shall 
there  be  any  remembrance  of  things  that  are  to  come 
with  those  that  shall  come  after. 

He  has  had  experience,  he  says,  of  success,  and  of 
riches,  and  of  reputation,  and  of  wisdom,  and  they  are 
all  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.     In  an  interesting 


202        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

passage,  which  may  explain  in  some  measure  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  soul,  he  says  that  even  love  has  failed  him. 

I  find  more  bitter  than  death  the  woman,  whose  heart 
is  snares  and  nets,  and  her  hands  as  bands :  whoso  pleas- 
eth  God  shall  escape  from  her;  but  the  sinner  shall  be 
taken  by  her.  Behold,  this  have  I  found,  saith  the 
Preacher,  counting  one  by  one,  to  find  out  the  account: 
which  yet  my  soul  seeketh,  but  I  find  not :  one  man  among 
a  thousand  have  I  found ;  but  a  woman  among  all  those 
have  I  not  found.  Lo,  this  only  have  I  found,  that  God 
hath  made  man  upright ;  but  they  have  sought  out  many 
inventions. 

He  is  so  vehement  in  his  repeated  denials  of  the 
doctrine  of  a  future  life  as  to  suggest  that  that  asser- 
tion of  the  discrimination  of  God  was  new  in  his  time, 
and  that  one  of  his  purposes  in  writing  was  to  contra- 
dict it. 

Then  said  I  in  my  heart: — "As  it  happeneth  to  the 
fool,  so  it  happeneth  even  to  me;  and  why  was  I  then 
more  wise?"  Then  I  said  in  my  heart,  that  this  also  is 
vanity.  For  there  is  no  remembrance  of  the  wise  more 
than  of  the  fool  for  ever;  seeing  that  which  now  is  in 
the  days  to  come  shall  all  be  forgotten.  And  how  dieth 
the  wise  man?  as  the  fool.  Therefore  I  hated  life;  be- 
cause the  work  that  is  wrought  under  the  sun  is  grievous 
unto  me :  for  all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit. 

I  said  in  mine  heart  concerning  the  estate  of  the  sons 
of  men,  that  God  might  manifest  them,  and  that  they 
might  see  that  they  themselves  are  beasts.  For  that  which 
befalleth  the  sons  of  men  befalleth  beasts;  even  one 
thing  befalleth  them :  as  the  one  dieth,  so  dieth  the  other ; 
yea,  they  have  all  one  breath ;  so  that  a  man  hath  no  pre- 
eminence above  a  beast:  for  all  is  vanity.  All  go  unto 
pne  place ;  all  are  of  the  dust,  and  all  turn  to  dust  again. 


THE   WISE    MEN  203 

Thus  Ecclesiastes  is  a  depressing  book ;  more  so  than 
Lamentations',  for  that  is  an  expression  of  grief  over 
the  fall  of  a  city,  but  this  is  an  expression  of  grief  over 
the  state  of  man  for  whom,  beyond  this  life,  there  is  no 
hope. 

At  the  same  time,  there  is  another  side  to  the  book. 
Vanity  of  vanities,  says  the  Preacher;  but  he  says  also : 

Go  thy  way,  eat  thy  bread  with  joy,  and  drink  thy  wine 
with  a  merry  heart;  for  God  now  accepteth  thy  works. 
Let  thy  garments  be  always  white ;  and  let  thy  head  lack 
no  ointment.  Live  joyfully  with  the  wife  whom  thou 
lovest  all  the  days  of  the  life  of  thy  vanity,  which  he 
hath  given  thee  under  the  sun,  all  the  days  of  thy  vanity : 
for  that  is  thy  portion  in  this  life,  and  in  thy  labour  which 
thou  takest  under  the  sun.  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth 
to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might;  for  there  is  no  work,  nor 
device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave, 
whither  thou  goest. 

And  this  he  repeats  again  and  again.  Also,  denying 
that  God  makes  any  difference  between  the  saint  and 
the  sinner,  the  wise  man  and  the  fool,  he  nevertheless 
asserts  that  God  does  make  a  difference,  and  he  looks 
to  see  this  difference  made  clear  in  the  life  to  come. 

Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not  executed 
speedily,  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully 
set  in  them  to  do  evil.  Though  a  sinner  do  evil  an  hun- 
dred times,  and  his  days  be  prolonged,  yet  surely  I  know 
that  it  shall  be  well  with  them  that  fear  God,  which  fear 
before  him:  but  it  shall  not  be  well  with  the  wicked, 
neither  shall  he  prolong  his  days,  which  are  as  a  shadow ; 
because  he  feareth  not  before  God. 

I  have  seen  the  travail,  which  God  hath  given  to  the 
sons  of  men  to  be  exercised  in  it.   He  hath  made  every 


204        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

thing  beautiful  in  its  time :  also  he  hath  set  the  world  in 
their  heart,  so  that  no  man  can  find  out  the  work  that 
God  maketh  from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  I  know  that 
there  is  no  good  in  them,  but  for  a  man  to  rejoice,  and 
to  do  good  in  his  life.  And  also  that  every  man  should 
eat  and  drink,  and  enjoy  the  good  of  all  his  labour,  it  is 
the  gift  of  God.  I  know  that,  whatsoever  God  doeth,  it 
shall  be  for  ever :  nothing  can  be  put  to  it,  nor  any  thing 
taken  from  it :  and  God  doeth  it,  that  men  should  fear 
before  him.  That  which  hath  been  is  now;  and  that 
which  is  to  be  hath  already  been ;  and  God  requireth  that 
which  is  past. 

And  moreover  I  saw  under  the  sun  the  place  of  judg- 
ment, that  wickedness  was  there ;  and  the  place  of  right- 
eousness, that  iniquity  was  there.  I  said  in  mine  heart : — 
"God  shall  judge  the  righteous  and  the  wicked :  for  there 
is  a  time  there  for  every  purpose  and  for  every  work." 

And  so,  In  other  places. 

These  contradictions  have  been  explained  by  the 
theory  of  interpolation.  The  idea  is  that  this  book  of 
denial  and  despair  has  been  made  readable  for  devout 
people  by  writing  into  it  good  words  of  hope  and  cheer. 
Or  perhaps  the  writer  thus  expresses  his  own  divided 
mind :  now  he  calls  the  chess-board  black,  now  white ; 
now  faith,  now  doubt,  dominates  his  spirit.  Anyhow, 
the  two  voices  are  those  which  are  heard  in  the  souls 
of  all  reflective  persons.  The  general  meaning  of  the 
book  is  on  the  side  of  courage.  Admitting  the  empti- 
ness of  life,  and  greatly  doubting  the  correction  of  its 
inequalities  In  any  other  life,  still  the  pessimist  is  not 
in  despair.  He  summons  his  soul  to  make  the  best 
of  the  world  as  it  is.  The  premises  are  those  of  Omar 
Khayyam,  but  the  conclusion  Is  altogether  different. 
This  Is  a  hard  and  bad  world,  far  from  our  heart's 


THE   WISE    MEN  205 

desire,  offensive  to  our  sense  of  justice :  so  the  Preacher 
says,  out  of  his  own  experience.  But  it  is  God's 
world,  nevertheless,  he  says,  and  our  duty  in  it  is  to 
fear  God  and  keep  his  commandments. 


Ill 


The  book  of  Job  takes  the  world  the  other  way 
around.  The  good  man,  who  in  Ecclesiastes  is  in  a 
state  of  prosperity  which  he  finds  monotonous  and 
empty,  is  here  in  dire  adversity.  He  has  lost  his 
property,  his  children  and  his  health.  In  what  spirit 
shall  he  live  in  a  world  which  is  now  only  a  place  of 
pain? 

At  first,  in  the  prose  prologue,  he  meets  the  begin- 
ning of  his  troubles  with  courageous  resignation:  *'The 
Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away;  blessed  be 
the  name  of  the  Lord."  As  his  misery  increases,  his 
faith  rises  to  meet  it:  "Shall  we  receive  good  at  the 
hand  of  God,  and  shall  we  not  receive  evil?"  But  the 
opening  of  the  poem  discovers  him  lamenting  that  he 
was  ever  born. 

Let  the  day  perish  wherein  I  was  born. 
And  the  night  which  said.  There  is  a  man  child  con- 
ceived. 
Let  that  day  be  darkness ; 
Let  not  God  regard  it  from  above, 
Neither  let  the  light  shine  upon  it. 
Let  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death  claim  it; 
Let  a  cloud  dwell  upon  it ; 
Let  the  blackness  of  the  day  terrify  it. 
As  for  that  night,  let  darkness  seize  upon  it ; 
Let  it  not  be  joined  unto  the  days  of  the  year. 


206        HOW   TO   KNOW   JHE   BIBLE 

Let  it  not  come  into  the  number  of  the  months. 

Lo,  let  that  night  be  barren, 

Let  no  joyful  voice  come  therein. 

Let  them  curse  it  that  curse  the  day, 

Them  that  are  skilled  to  rouse  up  the  dragon. 

Let  the  stars  of  the  twilight  thereof  be  dark ; 

Let  it  look  for  light,  but  have  none ; 

Neither  let  it  see  the  eyelids  of  the  morning: 

Because  it  shut  not  up  the  doors  of  my  mother's 

womb. 
Nor  hid  sorrow  from  mine  eyes. 
Why  died  I  not  from  the  womb? 
Why  did  I  not  give  up  the  ghost  when  I  came  out 

of  the  belly  ? 
Why  did  the  knees  receive  me? 
Or  why  the  breasts  that  I  should  suck? 
For  now  should  I  have  lain  still  and  been  quiet, 
I  should  have  slept :  then  had  I  been  at  rest. 
With  kings  and  counsellors  of  the  earth, 
Which  built  desolate  places  for  themselves ; 
Or  with  princes  that  had  gold. 
Who  filled  their  houses  with  silver : 
Or  as  an  hidden  untimely  birth  I  had  not  been ; 
As  infants  which  never  saw  light. 
There  the  wicked  cease  from  raging; 
And  there  the  weary  be  at  rest. 
There  the  prisoners  rest  together ; 
They  hear  not  the  voice  of  the  taskmaster. 
The  small  and  great  are  there ; 
And  the  servant  is  free  from  his  master. 

Meanwhile,  three  friends  have  come  to  comfort  him, 
Eliphaz,  and  Bildad  and  Zophar.  The  poem  takes 
dramatic  form.  There  are  three  cycles  of  speeches; 
Job  speaks,  then  Eliphaz;  Job  speaks  again,  then  Bil- 
dad; Job  again  speaks,  then  Zophar  (3-11)  ;  so  a  sec- 
ond time  (12-20),  and  a  third  time  (21-31),  except 
that  in  the  third  cycle  Zophar  does  not  speak.    In  the 


THE   WISE    MEN  207 

place  of  Zophar  appears  a  stranger,  a  youth  named 
Elihu,  who  after  long  apologies  for  speaking,  speaks 
at  great  length  (32-37). 

Eliphaz,  Bildad,  Zophar  and  Elihu  agree  in  charging 
Job  with  sin.  They  explain  his  situation  in  terms  of 
Deuteronomy.  He  who  obeys  God  is  blessed,  li  man 
is  in  misfortune;  if,  like  Job,  he  loses  his  money  or  his 
health ;  the  fact  shows  that  he  has  offended  God. 

Eliphaz  says : 

If  we  assay  to  commune  with  thee,  wilt  thou  be 

grieved  ? 
But  who  can  withhold  himself  from  speaking? 
Behold,  thou  hast  instructed  many. 
And  thou  hast  strengthened  the  weak  hands. 
Thy  words  have  upholden  him  that  was  falling, 
And  thou  hast  strengthened  the  feeble  knees. 
But  now  it  is  come  upon  thee,  and  thou  faintest ; 
It  toucheth  thee,  and  thou  art  troubled. 
Is  not  thy  fear  of  God  thy  confidence? 
And  thy  hope,  is  it  not  the  perfection  of  thy  ways  ? 
Remember,  I  pray  thee,  who  ever  perished,  being 

innocent  ? 
Or  where  were  the  righteous  cut  off? 
Even  as  I  have  seen,  they  that  plow  iniquity, 
And  sow  wickedness,  reap  the  same. 
By  the  blast  of  God  they  perish. 
And  by  the  breath  of  his  nostrils  are  they  consumed. 

Bildad  says  : 

How  long  wilt  thou  speak  these  things  ? 

And  how  long  shall  the  words  of  thy  mouth  be  like  a 

strong  wind? 
Doth  God  pervert  judgment? 
Or  doth  the  Almighty  pervert  justice? 
If  thy  children  have  sinned  against  him, 


208        HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

And  he  have  let  them  go  into  the  hand  of  their 
transgression ; 

If  thou  wouldest  seek  unto  God  betimes, 

And  make  thy  suppHcation  to  the  Almighty ; 

If  thou  wert  pure  and  upright; 

Surely  now  he  would  awake  for  thee, 

And  make  the  habitation  of  thy  righteousness  pros- 
perous. 

Zophar  says: 

Should  not  the  multitude  of  words  be  answered  ? 
And  should  a  man  full  of  talk  be  justified? 
Should  thy  boastings  make  men  hold  their  peace  ? 
And  when  thou  mockest,  shall  no  man  make  thee 

ashamed  ? 
For  thou  hast  said,  "My  doctrine  is  pure. 
And  I  am  clean  in  thine  eyes." 
But  oh  that  God  would  speak, 
And  open  his  lips  against  thee ; 

And  that  he  would  shew  thee  the  secrets  of  wisdom. 
That  they  are  wonderful  in  sound  knowledge ! 
Know  therefore  that  God  exacteth  of  thee  less  than 

thine  iniquity  deserveth. 

Elihu  says: 

Job  hath  said,  "I  am  righteous : 

And  God  hath  taken  away  my  judgment. 

Should  I  lie  against  my  right? 

My  wound  is  incurable  without  transgression," 

What  man  is  like  Job, 

Who  drinketh  up  scorning  like  water  ? 

Which  goeth  in  company  with  the  workers  of 
iniquity, 

And  walketh  with  wicked  men. 

For  he  hath  said,  "It  profiteth  a  man  nothing. 

That  he  should  delight  himself  with  God." 

Therefore  hearken  unto  me,  ye  men  of  understand- 
ing: 


THE   WISE   MEN  209 

Far  be  it  from  God,  that  he  should  do  wickedness  ; 
And   from  the  Almighty,   that  he   should   commit 

iniquity. 
For  the  work  of  a  man  shall  he  render  unto  him, 
And  cause  every  man  to  find  according  to  his  ways. 
Yea,  surely  God  will  not  do  wickedly, 
Neither  will  the  Almighty  pervert  judgment. 

These  accusations  are  repeated,  with  differences  and 
digression,  but  without  much  progress  in  the  argument 
or  distinction  between  the  speakers,  through  the  three 
cycles.  Job,  in  reply,  maintains  his  innocence.  He 
can  not  explain  the  meaning  of  the  distress  which  has 
befallen  him,  but  he  knows  in  the  integrity  of  his  soul 
that  the  explanation  of  his  friends  is  wrong.  The 
Deuteronomic  solution  of  the  problem  of  pain  may 
interpret  a  great  part  of  the  prosperity  and  adversity 
of  human  life,  but  it  does  not  interpret  the  experience 
of  Job. 

Thus  Job  answers : 

Oh  that  my  impatience  were  but  weighed. 
And  my  calamity  laid  in  the  balances  together ! 
For  now  it  would  be  heavier  than  the  sand  of  the 

sea: 
Therefore  have  my  words  been  wild. 
For  the  arrows  of  the  Almighty  are  within  me, 
The  poison  whereof  my  spirit  drinketh  in : 
The  terrors  of  God  do  set  themselves  in  array  against 

me. 

How  forcible  are  words  of  uprightness ! 
But  what  doth  your  arguing  reprove  ? 
Do  ye  imagine  to  reprove  words  ? 
Though  the  speeches  of  one  that  is  desperate  go  into 
the  wind. 


210        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

Yea,  ye  would  cast  lots  upon  the  fatherless, 

And  bargain  over  your  friend. 

Now,  therefore,  be  pleased  to  look  upon  me, 

I  will  not  surely  lie  to  your  face ! 

Turn,  I  pray  you,  let  there  be  no  injustice ; 

Turn  again,  my  cause  is  righteous. 

I  will  give  free  course  to  my  complaint ; 

I  will  speak  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul. 

I  will  say  unto  God,  "Do  not  condemn  me ; 

Shew  me  wherefore  thou  contendest  with  me." 

Is  it  good  unto  thee  that  thou  shouldest  oppress. 

That  thou  shouldest  despise  the  work  of  thine  hands. 

And  shine  upon  the  counsel  of  the  wicked? 

Hast  thou  eyes  of  flesh  ? 

Or  seest  thou  as  man  seeth? 

Are  thy  days  as  the  days  of  man? 

Are  thy  years  as  man's  days, 

That  thou  enquirest  after  mine  iniquity, 

And  searchest  after  my  sin  ? 

Thou  knowest  that  I  am  not  wicked ; 

And  there  is  none  that  can  deliver  out  of  thine  hand. 

Thine  hands  have  made  me  and  fashioned  me 

Together  round  about ;  yet  thou  dost  destroy  me ! 

And  I  desire  to  reason  with  God. 

But  ye  are  forgers  of  lies. 

Ye  are  all  physicians  of  no  value. 

O  that  ye  would  altogether  hold  your  peace ! 

And  it  should  be  your  wisdom. 

Hear  now  my  reasoning, 

And  hearken  to  the  pleadings  of  my  lips. 

Will  ye  speak  wickedly  for  God  ? 

And  talk  deceitfully  for  him? 

Will  ye  be  partisans  for  him  ? 

Will  ye  contend  for  God? 

Is  it  good  that  he  should  search  you  out  ? 

Or  as  one  man  mocketh  another,  do  ye  so  mock  him  ? 

He  will  surely  reprove  you, 

If  ye  do  secretly  accept  persons. 


THE    WISE    MEN  211 

Shall  not  his  excellency  make  you  afraid? 

And  his  dread  fall  upon  you? 

Your  remembrances  shall  be  proverbs  of  ashes. 

Your  defences  defences  of  dust. 

Hold  your  peace,  let  me  alone,  that  I  may  speak, 

And  let  come  on  me  what  will. 

Wherefore  should  I  take  my  flesh  in  my  teeth, 

And  put  my  life  in  mine  hand  ? 

Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him. 

In  these  words  the  book  of  Job  attains  its  supreme 
spiritual  height.  Presently  God  speaks  from  the  clouds, 
but  though  he  rebukes  the  accusers  of  Job  he  discloses 
no  interpretation  of  the  fact  of  pain,  and  suggests  no 
consolation  beyond  that  which  may  be  found  in  submis- 
sion to  his  will,  trusting  in  his  wisdom  which  passes  all 
understanding.  In  the  prose  epilogue  Job  is  again 
blessed  with  prosperity,  and  has  twice  as  many  sheep 
and  cattle,  and  sons  and  daughters,  as  he  had  before. 

The  mention  of  Job  in  Ezekiel  (14:14,  20)  between 
Noah  and  Daniel  gives  him  no  date,  except  to  suggest 
that  the  poem  refers  to  an  ancient  tradition.  The  sim- 
plicity of  the  scene  would  befit  a  contemporary  of 
Noah ;  but  the  complexity  of  the  thought  w'ould  be  ap- 
propriate to  a  contemporary  of  Daniel.  In  the  nature 
of  the  profound  problem  which  is  presented,  and  in  the 
sublime  poetic  art  which  sets  this  book  among  the 
greatest  in  the  literature  of  the  world,  it  would  appear 
to  belong  to  a  late  period  of  the  experience  of  Israel. 
It  may  well  belong  to  that  Golden  Century  when 
^schylus,  and  Sophocles  and  Euripides  were  study- 
ing the  same  problem  in  Athens. 

In  the  mind  of  the  writer  of  the  book  the  problem 


212        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

was  probably  more  than  the  perplexity  of  a  good  man 
in  distress :  it  was  the  perplexity  of  a  good  nation.  It 
sums  up  the  lesson  of  the  long  history,  and  of  all  the 
teachings  of  the  prophets  and  the  poets.  The  Old 
Testament  is  a  tragedy.  The  hero  is  the  People  of 
God,  coming  as  a  pioneer  out  of  the  east,  falling  into 
slavery  in  Egypt,  escaping  into  the  desert,  invading 
and  winning  the  land  of  Palestine,  fighting  there 
against  enemies  near  and  far,  and  against  strong  temp- 
tations, conquered  at  last  and  carried  captive  to  Baby- 
lon, and  returning  to  live  in  poverty  and  subjection. 
There  is  much  more  defeat  in  this  experience  than 
victory,  more  adversity  than  prosperity.  The  explan- 
ation is  hidden  beyond  human  search,  in  the  inscruta- 
ble mystery  of  the  divine  ordering  of  the  world. 
Meanwhile  the  good  nation,  like  the  good  man,  like 
Job,  will  maintain  an  unfailing  patience,  and  a  faith 
invincible,  saying,  "Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust 
in  him.'* 


XIII 


BETWEEN  THE  TESTAMENTS 


THE  Old  Testament,  thus  completed  and  consist- 
ing of  thirty-nine  books,  is  divided  in  the  Hebrew 
Bible  into  three  parts  or  collections. 

The  first  is  the  Law,  being  the  five  books  of  Moses. 
This  we  may  call  the  Bible  proper,  the  supreme  au- 
thority in  religion  for  the  Jews.  The  second  is  the 
Prophets,  being  the  books  of  history  from  Joshua  to 
Second  Kings,  (called  the  Former  Prophets)  and  the 
books  of  prophecy  from  Isaiah  to  Malachi,  except  Dan- 
iel, (called  the  Latter  Prophets).  These  books  were  a 
later  collection  added  to  the  Bible.  A  third  collection, 
much  later  and  called  the  Hagiographa,  or  Holy  Writ- 
ings, includes  books  of  poetry,  books  of  wisdom,  a  new 
edition  of  ancient  history,  in  the  Chronicles ,  extended 
in  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  to  record  the  events  of  the 
return  from  exile  and  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem,  with 
the  prophecy  of  Daniel  during  the  persecution  of  the 
Jews  by  the  Greeks  in  the  second  century  before  Christ. 

When  the  Hebrew  Bible  was  translated  into  Greek 
(the  Septuagint)  a  fourth  collection  was  added  to  these 
three.  It  was  composed  of  books  most  of  which  were 
written  between  the  year  200  before  Christ  and  the 

213 


214        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

year  1.  Some  of  them  were  made  in  Palestine,  in  the 
Hebrew  or  Aramaic  language;  others  in  Alexandria, 
in  Greek.  They  were  collected  in  Alexandria ;  such  as 
were  in  Hebrew  or  Aramaic  were  translated  into 
Greek;  and  they  were  called  Apocrypha,  i.  e.  Hidden 
Writings,  a  word  which  was  at  first  used  in  praise, 
meaning  sacred  books  to  be  hidden  from  the  uniniti- 
ated, but  was  later  used  in  blame,  meaning  books  of  ob- 
scure, questionable  or  at  least  secondary  value.  Thus 
while  the  Hebrew  Old  Testament,  as  read  by  the  Jews 
of  Palestine,  consisted  of  three  collections  of  religious 
books,  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Hagiographa, 
the  Greek  Old  Testament,  as  read  by  the  Jews  of  Alex- 
andria, consisted  of  four  collections,  the  Law,  the 
Prophets,  the  Hagiographa  and  the  Apocrypha. 

When  the  Greek  Bible  was  translated  into  Latin  (the 
Vulgate)  it  included  this  fourth  collection  with  the 
others.  Meanwhile  official  Judaism  had  declined  to 
accept  these  Alexandrian  additions  as  a  part  of  the 
Bible.  There  were  accordingly  two  Old  Testaments, 
one  consisting  of  thirty-nine  books  read  in  the  syn- 
agogues, the  other  consisting  of  these  thirty-nine  books 
plus  the  fourteen  of  the  Apocrypha  read  in  the 
churches.  And  this  difference  still  continues,  for  at  the 
Reformation  the  Protestants,  for  the  most  part,  sub- 
tracted the  Apocrypha,  while  the  Roman  Catholics 
retained  it.  Li  the  Church  of  England,  and  in  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  this  country,  parts  of  the  Apoc- 
rypha are  appointed  to  be  read  ''for  example  of  life 
and  instruction  of  manners."  This  is  a  wise  discrim- 
ination, for  while  the  complete  inclusion  of  the  fourth 


BETWEEN    THE   TESTAMENTS       215 

collection  adds  to  the  Bible  some  writings  which  are  en- 
tertaining rather  than  reHgious,  its  complete  exclusion 
deprives  the  reader  of  the  Bible  of  some  stirring  chap- 
ters of  Jewish  history,  and  of  many  helpful  counsels 
for  the  betterment  of  conduct. 


n 


Eight  of  the  apocryphal  writings  are  additions  to  va- 
rious books  of  the  Hebrew  Bible.  One  of  them  is  called 
The  rest  of  the  Book  of  Esther;  it  tells  how  devoutly 
Mordecia  and  Esther  prayed,  thereby  Introducing  an 
element  of  religion,  which  in  the  original  book  is  so 
curiously  lacking.  Another,  The  Prayer  of  Manasses, 
undertakes  the  still  more  difficult  task  of  bringing  a 
little  good  religion  into  the  experience  of  that  stout 
pagan,  Manasseh  the  Apostate;  he  Is  represented  as 
taken  captive  to  Babylon,  and  there  confessing  his 
sins. 

Three  additions  are  made  to  the  book  of  Daniel. 
One  is  The  Song  of  the  Three  Children^  and  reports 
how  Azariah  prayed  in  the  burning,  fiery  furnace,  and 
how  he  and  Misael  and  Ananias  sang  in  the  midst  of 
the  flames  to  the  glory  of  God:  "O  all  ye  works  of 
the  Lord,  bless  ye  the  Lord,  praise  him  and  magnify 
him  forever."  Another  is  The  Story  of  Siisamia,  and 
tells  how  the  conspiracy  of  two  wicked  elders  against 
the  fair  name  of  a  good  woman  was  defeated  by  the 
cross-examination  of  Daniel.  He  had  the  false  wit- 
nesses examined  separately.  Confronting  the  first  with 
that  freedom  of  personal  abuse  which  even  then  was 


216        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

a  traditional  privilege  of  an  attorney,  *'0  thou  that  art 
waxen  old  in  wickedness,"  he  said,  "now  thy  sins  which 
thou  hast  committed  aforetime  are  come  to  light,  for 
thou  hast  pronounced  false  judgment,  and  hast  con- 
demned the  innocent  and  let  the  guilty  go  free.  Now 
then,  tell  me,  under  what  tree  sawest  thou  them?"  He 
answered,  "Under  a  mastic  tree."  The  other  witness, 
being  similarly  browbeaten  and  questioned,  answered, 
"Under  a  holm  tree." 

A  third  addition  to  the  book  of  Daniel  is  the  two 
amusing  little  tales  of  Bel  and  the  Dragon,  Bel  is  an 
idol  which  consumes  every  day  twelve  measures  of  fine 
flour,  and  forty  sheep,  and  six  vessels  of  wine.  The 
King  of  Babylon  is  sure  that  the  idol  is  alive  because 
it  has  so  good  an  appetite.  But  Daniel  secretly  spreads 
a  film  of  ashes  on  the  floor  of  the  shrine,  and  in  the 
morning  it  shows  the  marks  of  the  bare  feet  of  men, 
women  and  children.  These,  as  he  proves  to  the  king, 
are  the  priests  and  their  families,  who  come  up  out  of 
a  trap-door  under  the  table  and  feast  on  the  idol's 
dinner.  "But  behold  this  great  dragon,"  says  the 
king.  "Wilt  thou  also  say  that  this  is  of  brass?  Lo, 
he  liveth,  he  eateth  and  drinketh;  thou  canst  not  say 
that  he  is  no  living  god ;  therefore  worship  him."  Daniel 
says,  "If  thou  wilt  give  me  leave,  I  shall  slay  this 
dragon  without  sword  or  staff."  The  king  says,  "I 
give  thee  leave."  So  Daniel  makes  a  ball  of  pitch  and 
fat  and  hair  which  sticks  in  the  dragon's  throat  and 
strangles  him. 

The  Third  Book  of  Esdras  is  numbered  by  counting 
Ezra  as  the  first,  and  Nehemiah  as  the  second.    It  is  an 


BETWEEN   THE   TESTAMENTS       217 

account  of  the  return  from  the  captivity  in  Babylon, 
and  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple;  a  parallel  and  rival 
of  the  canonical  books,  and  by  some  scholars  preferred 
before  them.  It  contains  a  pleasant  story  of  a  debate 
before  Darius  on  the  question,  "Which  is  the  strong- 
est?" One  says,  **Wine  is  the  strongest";  another, 
"The  king  is  the  strongest";  a  third  maintains  that 
"Women  are  strongest."  "The  king,"  he  says,  "is 
great  in  his  power,  and  all  regions  fear  to  touch  him, 
yet  I  did  see  him,  and  Apame,  the  king's  favorite, 
sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  the  king,  and  taking  the 
crown  from  the  king's  head  and  setting  it  upon  her  own 
head ;  she  also  struck  the  king  with  her  left  hand.  And 
yet  for  all  this  the  king  gaped,  and  gazed  upon  her  with 
open  mouth ;  if  she  laughed  upon  him,  he  laughed  also ; 
if  she  took  any  displeasure  at  him,  the  king  w^as  fain 
to  flatter,  that  she  might  be  reconciled  to  him."  The 
debate  is  decided  in  favor  of  the  proposition  "Great  is 
Truth,  and  mighty  above  all  things." 

The  Fourth  Book  of  Esdras  is  made  up  of  the  vis- 
ions and  prophecies  of  Ezra  the  Scribe,  for  the  con- 
solation of  the  people  in  distress.  "I,  Esdras  saw  upon 
the  mount  Sion  a  great  people,  whom  I  could  not 
number,  and  they  all  praised  the  Lord  with  songs.  And 
in  the  midst  of  them  there  was  a  young  man  of  a  high 
stature,  taller  than  all  the  rest,  and  upon  every  one  of 
their  heads  he  set  crowns,  and  was  more  exalted ;  which 
I  marvelled  at  greatly.  So  I  asked  the  angel,  and  said  : 
'Sir,  what  are  these  ?'  He  answered  and  said  unto  me : 
These  be  they  that  have  put  off  the  mortal  clothing, 
and  put  on  the  immortal,  and  have  confessed  the  name 


218        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

of  God:  now  are  they  crowned,  and  receive  palms/ 
Then  said  I  unto  the  angel,  What  young  man  is  it 
that  crowneth  them,  and  giveth  them  palms  in  their 
hands?'  So  he  answered  and  said  unto  me,  Tt  is  the 
Son  of  God,  whom  they  have  confessed  in  the  world/ 
Then  began  I  greatly  to  commend  them  that  stood  so 
stiffly  for  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

The  companion  and  secretary  of  Jeremiah  is  rep- 
resented as  speaking  in  the  book  of  Baruch  the  Prophet. 
It  is  a  confession  of  sin,  and  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
justice  of  the  punishment  of  God,  and  a  promise  of  de- 
liverance. ''God  hath  appointed  that  every  high  hill, 
and  banks  of  long  continuance,  shall  be  cast  down,  and 
valleys  filled  up,  to  make  even  the  ground  that  Israel 
may  go  safely  in  the  glory  of  the  Lord.  God  shall  lead 
Israel  with  joy  in  the  light  of  his  glory  with  the  mercy 
and  righteousness  that  cometh  from  him." 


in 


Of  the  six  independent  writings  of  the  Apocrypha, 
two  are  books  of  history,  two  are  books  of  romance, 
and  two  are  books  which  belong  to  the  literature  of 
Wisdom. 

The  two  history  books.  First  and  Second  Maccabees, 
are  parallel  accounts  of  one  of  the  most  dramatic  peri- 
ods of  Jewish  history.  Out  of  the  oppression  of  the 
Jews  by  the  Greeks  under  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  when 
the  temple  was  desecrated  and  the  faithful  were  per- 
secuted, and  an  effort  was  made  to  exterminate  the 
ancient  religion,  the  land  was  deHvered  by  the  wisdom 


BETWEEN    THE    TESTAMENTS       219 

and  bravery  of  Judas  Maccabeus.  He  was  a  leader  of 
a  splendid  and  successful  struggle  for  independence. 
First  Maccabees  relates  the  history  of  forty  years,  to 
the  death  of  Simon  the  Maccabee  in  B.  C.  135,  and 
was  probably  written  by  a  contemporary.  Second 
Maccabees,  which  is  a  condensation  of  five  volumes  of 
Maccabean  history,  is  concerned  with  fifteen  years  in 
the  midst  of  this  period,  ending  with  the  victory  of 
Judas  over  the  Greek  general  Nicanor. 

Of  the  two  romance  books,  Judith  is  a  thrilling  story 
of  the  assassination  of  the  commander  of  an  invading 
army.  At  a  time  of  national  distress,  when  the  fear 
and  dread  of  the  Assyrians  fell  upon  all  peoples,  and 
Judah  and  Jerusalem  w^ere  sore  beset  by  the  forces  of 
General  Holo femes,  Judith  of  Bethulia,  a  young 
widow,  "of  a  goodly  countenance  and  very  beautiful 
to  behold,"  went  over  with  her  waiting-woman  to  the 
camp  of  the  enemy  and  offered  to  show  them  a  pass 
among  the  hills  through  which  they  might  attack  the 
Jews  with  great  advantage.  She  was  brought  into  the 
tent  of  Holofernes  who  entertained  her  at  dinner,  dur- 
ing which  he  ''drank  much  more  wine  that  he  had 
drunk  at  any  time  in  one  day  since  he  was  born."  This 
opportunity  Judith  improved.  She  took  the  sword 
of  Holofernes  and  cut  off  his  head.  Putting  the  head 
in  a  bag  she  made  her  way  back  to  her  own  people,  and 
the  Assyrians,  filled  with  fear  at  this  sudden  tragedy, 
fled  away. 

Tobit  was  a  righteous  and  generous  Jew  who  had 
fallen  into  poverty  and  blindness.  He  sent  his  son 
Tobias  into  the  distant  land  of  Media  to  recover  ten 


220        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

talents  of  silver  which  he  had  left  there  with  a  friend. 
The  lad  started  out,  taking  his  dog  with  him,  and  hav- 
ing for  guide  a  man  who  turns  out  to  be  the  angel 
Raphael  in  disguise.  On  the  way  Tobias  catches  a  fish, 
whose  heart  and  liver  and  gall,  by  the  direction  of 
Raphael,  he  saves  and  carries  with  him.  Arriving  in 
Media,  Tobias  finds  his  cousin  Sara  with  whom  he  falls 
in  love,  and  proposes  to  marry  her.  But  Sara  has  been 
the  victim  of  a  singular  fatality.  She  has  been  married 
seven  times,  and  every  time,  on  the  wedding  night,  a 
demon  has  appeared  and  killed  the  bridegroom.  The 
heart  and  liver  of  the  fish,  however,  provide  an  en- 
chantment against  this  demon.  Tobias  burns  them,  and 
makes  a  smoke  therewith,  "the  which  smell,  when  the 
evil  spirit  had  smelled,  he  fled  into  the  utmost  parts  of 
Egypt."  With  his  bride  and  the  ten  talents  Tobias 
returned.  By  the  advice  of  Raphael  he  rubbed  the 
gall  of  the  fish  on  his  father's  eyes,  who  thereupon  re- 
gained his  sight.  Thus  was  Tobias  rewarded  at  last 
for  all  his  generosity  and  goodness.  "Wherefore  now, 
my  son,  consider  what  alms  doeth,  and  how  righteous- 
ness doth  deliver." 

The  two  wisdom  books  are  written  in  the  spirit  of 
Job  and  Proverbs,  and  continue  the  tradition  of  the 
Wise  Men.  The  Book  of  Wisdom  is  put  forth  in  the 
name  of  Solomon  and  praises  the  prudent  virtues 
which  are  indicated  by  its  title.  To  the  rewards  and 
punishments  of  this  present  life,  which  alone  had  con- 
cerned the  earlier  sages,  this  writer  adds  the  fear  and 
hope  of  a  life  after  death. 


BETWEEN   THE   TESTAMENTS       221 

The  souls  of  the  righteous  are  in  the  hand  of  God, 

And  there  shall  no  torment  touch  them. 

In  the  sight  of  the  unwise  they  seemed  to  die : 

And  their  departure  is  taken  for  misery, 

And  their  going  from  us  to  be  utter  destruction : 

But  they  are  in  peace. 

For  though  they  be  punished  in  the  sight  of  men, 

Yet  is  their  hope  full  of  immortality. 

And  having  been  a  little  chastised,  they  shall  be 

greatly  rewarded : 
For  God  proved  them,  and  found  them  worthy  for 

himself. 
As  gold  in  the  furnace  hath  he  tried  them. 
And  received  them  as  a  burnt  offering. 
And  in  the  time  of  their  visitation  they  shall  shine, 
And  run  to  and  fro  like  sparks  among  the  stubble. 
They  shall  judge  the  nations,  and  have  dominion 

over  the  people. 
And  their  Lord  shall  reign  for  ever. 
They  that  put  their  trust  in  him  shall  understand  the 

truth : 
And  such  as  be  faithful  in  love  shall  abide  with  him : 
For  grace  and  mercy  is  to  his  saints, 
And  he  hath  care  for  his  elect. 

Ecclesiastictis,  called  also  The  Wisdom  of  Jesus  the 
Son  of  Sirach,  repeats  in  new  words  the  fine  old  ad- 
monitions and  anticipations  of  the  sages. 

My  son,  if  thou  come  to  Serve  the  Lord, 
Prepare  thy  soul  for  temptation,  f 
Set  thy  heart  aright,  and  constantly  endure. 
And  make  not  haste  in  time  of  trouble. 
Cleave  unto  him,  and  depart  not  away, 
That  thou  mayest  be  increased  at  thy  last  end. 
Whatsoever  is  brought  upon  thee  take  cheerfully, 
And  be  patient  when  thou  art  changed  to  a  low 
estate. 


222        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

For  gold  is  tried  in  the  fire, 

And  acceptable  men  in  the  furnace  of  adversity. 

Believe  in  him,  and  he  will  help  thee ; 

Order  thy  way  aright,  and  trust  in  him. 

Ye  that  fear  the  Lord,  wait  for  his  mercy ; 

And  go  not  aside,  lest  ye  fall. 

Ye  that  fear  the  Lord,  believe  him ; 

And  your  reward  shall  not  fail. 

Ye  that  fear  the  Lord,  hope  for  good. 

And  for  everlasting  joy  and  mercy. 

Look  at  the  generations  of  old,  and  see ; 

Did  ever  any  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  was  confounded  ? 

Or  did  any  abide  in  his  fear,  and  was  forsaken  ? 

Or  whom  did  he  ever  despise,  that  called  upon  him  ? 

For  the  Lord  is  full  of  compassion  and  mercy, 

Longsuffering,  and  very  pitiful,  and  f orgiveth  sins. 

And  saveth  in  time  of  affliction. 

Woe  be  to  fearful  hearts,  and  faint  hands. 

And  the  sinner  that  goeth  two  ways ! 

Woe  unto  him  that  is  fainthearted !  for  he  believeth 

not; 
Therefore  shall  he  not  be  defended. 
Woe  unto  you  that  have  lost  patience ! 
And  what  will  ye  do  when  the  Lord  shall  visit  you  ? 

They  that  fear  the  Lord  will  not  disobey  his  word ; 
And  they  that  love  him  will  keep  his  ways. 
They  that  fear  the  Lord  will  seek  that  which  is  well- 
pleasing  unto  him; 
And  they  that  love  him  shall  be  filled  with  the  law. 
They  that  fear  the  Lord  will  prepare  their  hearts, 
And  humble  their  souls  in  his  sight,  saying, 
We  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Lord, 
And  not  into  the  hands  of  men : 
For  as  his  majesty  is, 
So  is  his  mercy. 


XIV 

THE  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  ST.   PETER 

THE  first  three  gospels  differ  from  every  other 
group  of  biographies  of  one  man  in  their  simi- 
larity each  to  the  other.  Matthew,  a  Galilean  apostle, 
who  had  been  employed  in  the  custom-house  at  Caper- 
naum; Mark,  a  Judean  disciple,  at  whose  mother's 
house  in  Jerusalem  the  Christian  believers  had  been  ac- 
customed to  assemble;  and  Luke,  a  Gentile  convert, 
who  had  been  a  physician  in  Antioch  or  in  Philippi; 
select  out  of  the  crowded  ministry  of  Jesus  the  same 
events,  the  same  dealings  with  friends  and  enemies,  the 
same  miracles  of  healing,  and  describe  them  for  the 
most  part  in  the  same  words ;  and  Matthew  and  Luke 
agree  also  in  their  accounts  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus, 
selecting  out  of  all  his  instructions  the  same  sayings. 

This  is  a  literary  situation  which  the  attentive  reader 
of  the  Old  Testament  is  prepared  to  understand.  He 
remembers  that  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  Sennacherib 
is  described  at  great  length  in  the  same  words  in  Kings 
and  Isaiah  {II  Kings  lS-20=Isaiah  36-39),  and  that 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar  is 
related  in  the  same  words  in  Kings  and  leremiah  (II 
Kings  24'A8-2S:2\=Jer.  52:1-27),  and  that  chapter 
after  chapter  of  Kings  is  reproduced  in  chapter  after 
chapter  of  Chronicles.    He  knows  that  these  similari- 

223 


224        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

ties  and  identities  are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  writers 
of  Isaiah,  Jeremiah  and  Chronicles  had  in  their  hands 
the  books  of  Kings.  He  accounts  in  like  manner  for 
the  verbal  agreement  of  the  three  gospels.  These  wri- 
ters quoted  from  the  same  documents. 

The  fact  that  three  of  them  agree  in  their  record  of 
what  Christ  did,  and  that  two  of  them  agree  also  in 
their  record  of  what  Christ  said,  indicates  that  there 
was  a  document  which  dealt  mainly  with  his  works, 
and  another  document  which  dealt  mainly  with  his 
words. 

These  two  primitive  sources  of  information  seem  to 
be  referred  to  in  a  statement  made  early  in  the  second 
century  by  Papias  of  Hierapolis.  He  was  a  bishop 
who  wrote  a  book  called  Commentaries  on  the  Oracles 
of  the  Lord.  The  book  is  lost,  but  descriptions  of  it 
and  quotations  from  it  remain.  Papias  said,  *'Mark, 
who  was  Peter's  interpreter,  wrote  down  accurately 
all  that  he  remembered  of  the  words  and  acts  of  Christ, 
but  not  in  order.  For  neither  did  he  hear  the  Lord, 
nor  was  he  one  of  his  followers ;  he  was  a  follower,  as 
I  have  said,  at  a  later  time,  of  Peter,  who  arranged  his 
addresses  as  occasions  dictated,  without  any  intention 
of  putting  together  a  complete  statement  of  the  Lord's 
sayings.  Mark  accordingly  made  no  mistake  in  thus 
writing  down  some  things  as  they  occurred  to  him; 
for  of  one  thing  he  was  most  careful,  not  to  omit 
anything  he  had  heard,  nor  to  misrepresent  anything 
in  it."  And  Papias  said  further,  ^'Matthew  composed 
the  sayings  in  the  Hebrew  dialect,  and  everyone  trans- 
lated them  as  he  was  able." 


ST.    PETER  225 

It  is  the  general  opinion  of  scholars  that  the  gospel 
of  Mark,  thus  described,  is  that  which  we  have  in  our 
Bible.  It  is  this  gospel  from  which  Matthew  and  Luke 
took  their  accounts  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus.  Eleven- 
twelfths  of  Mark  is  thus  repeated  in  Luke  and  Mat- 
thew. It  is  also  the  general  opinion  of  scholars  that 
Matthew's  record  of  the  Sayings  is  quoted  in  those 
passages  in  which  the  gospel  of  Matthew  and  the  gos- 
pel of  Luke  agree  (without  Mark)y  and  probably  in 
other  passages.  These  are  the  two  sources  whose  use 
by  the  three  evangelists  explains  the  identities  of  their 
three  gospels. 

Mark,  to  whom  we  are  thus  indebted  for  almost  all 
that  we  know  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ,  belonged 
to  the  second  Christian  generation.  The  house  of 
Mary,  his  mother,  may  have  contained  the  upper  room 
in  which  the  Last  Supper  was  eaten.  The  inference 
is  drawn  from  the  fact  that  it  is  in  his  gospel  only 
that  we  are  told  about  the  young  man  w^ho  suddenly 
appeared  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  and  was  chased 
away.  It  is  a  fair  guess  that  they  who  were  sent  to 
arrest  Jesus  went  first  to  the  house  where  the  Last 
Supper  had  been  prepared,  and  not  finding  him  there 
went  on  to  Gethsemane;  and  that  the  lad  IMark  was 
roused  from  sleep  to  run  to  the  Garden  to  give  the 
Master  warning.  It  is  certain  that  when  Peter  was  un- 
expectedly released  from  prison  he  went  at  once  to 
Mary's  house,  where  he  found  the  disciples  assembled. 
Thus  Mark  as  a  boy  was  in  the  way  of  knowing  the 
Christian  leaders.  He  w^ent  on  a  missionary  journey 
with  Paul  and  Barnabas,  who  was  his  uncle  or  cousin ; 


226        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE  \ 

and  though  he  left  the  company  in  the  midst  of  the 
mission,  mndi  to  Paul's  displeasure,  he  regained  the 
favor  of  the  apostle,  who  wrote  in  his  latter  days  to 
Timothy,  "Take  Mark  and  bring  him  with  thee,  for 
he  is  profitable  to  me  for  the  ministry."  Thus  he 
came  to  Rome,  where,  after  the  death  of  Paul,  he  con- 
tinued with  Peter,  who  spoke  of  him  with  fatherly 
affection, — "Mark,  my  son."  This  varied  and  inti- 
mate acquaintance  put  him  in  possession  of  the  apos- 
tolic memories  of  Jesus. 

Peter,  so  Papias  says,  told  Mark  all  that  he  remem- 
bered. This  was  partly,  no  doubt,  in  the  way  of  famil- 
iar reminiscence,  but  partly  also  in  the  way  of  preach- 
ing. For  Peter  spoke  in  Aramaic  in  the  language  whose 
Galilean  accent  betrayed  him  as  he  stood  with  the  serv- 
ants and  warmed  himself  on  the  night  before  the  cru- 
cifixion. Mark  was  his  interpreter  in  Rome,  where 
most  of  the  Christians  understood  Greek.  As  occasion 
arose  for  direction,  for  warning,  for  consolation,  Peter 
searched  his  memory  for  some  appropriate  word  or 
deed  of  Jesus,  and  Mark  translated  what  he  said.  The 
Gospel  of  St.  Mark  goes  back,  therefore,  to  St.  Peter. 
It  is  the  Recollections  of  St.  Peter.  It  gives  an  account 
of  the  ministry  of  Christ  as  it  was  seen  and  heard  by 
one  of  his  own  apostles,  one  who  was  nearer  to  him 
than  m_ost  of  the  others. 

Accordingly,  almost  everything  which  we  know 
about  Peter  before  the  Day  of  Pentecost  comes  from 
Mark.  Much  of  it  appears,  it  is  true,  in  Matthew  and 
in  Luke,  but  it  is  there  quoted  from  this  gospel,  word 
for  word. 


ST.    PETER  227 

There  is,  indeed,  an  account  in  John  (1:40-42)  of 
the  first  meeting  of  Peter  with  Jesus,  of  which  there  is 
no  record  in  Mark.  There  are  descriptions  in  Luke  and 
John  of  experiences  of  Peter  after  the  Lord's  resur- 
rection, which  are  not  contained  in  Mark;  but  this  may 
be  because  we  are  not  in  possession  of  the  original  end- 
ing of  this  gospel.  As  it  stands,  it  stops  abruptly.  An 
angel  at  the  empty  tomb  says,  "Ye  seek  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth, which  was  crucified :  he  is  risen ;  he  is  not  here : 
behold  the  place  where  they  laid  him.  But  go  your 
way,  tell  his  disciples  and  Peter  that  he  goeth  before 
you  into  Galilee :  there  shall  ye  see  him,  as  he  said 
unto  you."  The  writer  adds,  "And  they  went  out 
quickly  and  fled  from  the  sepulchre,  for  they  trembled 
and  were  amazed;  neither  said  they  anything  to  any 
man,  for  they  were  afraid."  Here,  in  some  early  man- 
uscripts, the  gospel  comes  to  an  end.  One  manuscript 
adds  the  words,  "And  all  things  which  had  been  com- 
municated to  them  they  immediately  declared  to  those 
who  were  with  Peter.  And  after  these  things  Jesus 
himself  sent  forth  by  them  the  holy  and  indestructible 
preaching  of  everlasting  salvation,  from  the  east  even 
unto  the  west."  Another  manuscript,  which  adds  the 
twelve  verses  (16:9-20)  with  which  we  are  familiar, 
sets  opposite  to  them  in  the  margin  the  note,  "from  the 
presbyter  Ariston;"  as  if  this  disciple,  of  whom  Papias 
speaks  with  great  respect,  had  written  them. 

That  Mark  had  other  sources  of  in  formation^  besides 
Peter  appears  in  his  use  of  two  somewhat  different  tra- 
ditions of  the  feeding  of  the  multitude :  one  time  stat- 
ing the  number  as  five  thousand,  leaving  twelve  baskets 


228        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

of  fragments  (6:35-44),  and  another  time  (8:1-9)  as 
four  thousand,  when  "they  took  up  of  the  broken  meat 
that  remained  seven  baskets."  Also  his  thirteenth  chap- 
ter, the  discourse  on  the  end  of  the  world,  seems  to  be 
an  independent  document.  It  is  plain,  however,  that 
the  main  source  of  Mark's  information  is  the  recollec- 
tions of  Peter. 

Thus  after  the  baptism  and  temptation,  and  the  call 
of  Peter  and  his  companions  in  the  fishing  fleet,  the 
ministry  of  Jesus  begins  at  Capernaum  in  Peter's 
house.  The  events  of  that  first  day  are  set  down  in  the 
narrative  in  detail.  We  are  told  what  took  place  in  the 
morning,  and  at  noon,  and  in  the  evening,  and  very 
early  the  day  after.  It  is  as  if  the  experiences  of  that 
day  had  impressed  themselves  upon  the  memory  of 
Peter  with  the  emphasis  which  goes  with  beginnings. 
No  doubt,  there  were  many  other  days  as  full  of  events 
quite  as  important,  but  that  day  when  all  was  new  re- 
mained in  the  apostle's  remembrance  with  ineffaceable 
distinctness. 

And  they  went  into  Capernaum;  and  straightway  on 
the  sabbath  day  he  entered  into  the  synagogue,  and 
taught,  and  they  were  astonished  at  his  doctrine;  for 
he  taught  them  as  one  that  had  authority,  and  not  as 
the  scribes.  And  there  was  in  their  synagogue  a  man  with 
an  unclean  spirit;  and  he  cried  out,  saying: — "Let  us 
alone;  what  have  we  to  do  with  thee,  thou  Jesus  of 
Nazareth?  art  thou  come  to  destroy  us?  I  know  thee 
who  thou  art,  the  Holy  One  of  God."  And  Jesus  re- 
buked him,  saying: — "Hold  thy  peace,  and  come  out  of 
him."  And  when  the  unclean  spirit  had  torn  him,  and 
cried  with  a  loud  voice,  he  came  out  of  him.  And  they 
were  all  amazed,  insomuch  that  they  questioned  among 


ST.    PETER  229 

themselves,  saying: — "What  thing  is  this?  what  new 
teaching  is  this  ?  for  with  authority  commandeth  he  even 
the  unclean  spirits,  and  they  do  obey  him."  And  immedi- 
ately his  fame  spread  abroad  throughout  all  the  region 
round  about  Galilee. 

And  forthwith,  when  they  were  come  out  of  the  syna- 
gogue, they  entered  into  the  house  of  Simon  and  Andrew, 
with  James  and  John.  But  Simon's  wife's  mother  lay 
sick  of  a  fever,  and  anon  they  tell  him  of  her.  And  he 
came  and  took  her  by  the  hand,  and  lifted  her  up;  and 
immediately  the  fever  left  her,  and  she  ministered  unto 
them. 

And  at  even,  when  the  sun  did  set,  they  brought  unto 
him  all  that  were  diseased,  and  them  that  were  possessed 
with  devils.  And  all  the  city  was  gathered  together  at 
the  door.  And  he  healed  many  that  were  sick  of  divers 
diseases,  and  cast  out  many  devils ;  and  suffered  not  the 
devils  to  speak,  because  they  knew  him. 

And  in  the  morning,  rising  up  a  great  while  before 
day,  he  went  out,  and  departed  into  a  solitary  place,  and 
there  prayed.  And  Simon  and  they  that  were  with  him 
followed  after  him.  And  when  they  had  found  him,  they 
said  unto  him : — "All  seek  for  thee."  And  he  said  unto 
them : — "Let  us  go  into  the  next  towns,  that  I  may  preach 
there  also :  for  therefore  came  I  forth." 

The  interest  of  the  narrator,  here  as  elsewhere,  is  in 
the  works  of  Jesus  rather  than  in  his  words.  He  for- 
got the  sermon  which  he  heard  in  the  synagogue;  he 
remembered  only  the  miracle.  It  appears  in  the  narra- 
tive that  Jesus  perceived  this  situation  and  deplored  it. 
Out  come  the  disciples  the  next  morning,  Simon  Peter 
at  their  head,  seeking  him  as  he  prays  "in  a  solitary 
place."  The  town,  they  cry,  is  already  astir  with  ex- 
citement; the  street  in  front  of  our  house,  says  Peter, 
is  full  of  people  expecting  more  miracles.  But  the  Lord 
declines  to  return.     *'Let  us  go  into  the  next  towns/* 


230        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

he  says,  "that  I  may  preach,  for  that  is  the  work  which 
I  am  come  to  do." 

Nevertheless,  some  days  later,  when  he  returned  to 
Capernaum,  and  was  again  in  Peter's  house,  and 
"many  were  gathered  together,  insomuch  that  there 
was  no  room  to  receive  them,  no,  not  so  much  as  about 
the  door,"  and  he  preached  the  word  unto  them,  again 
we  have  no  record  of  the  word  which  he  preached,  but 
a  full  account  of  the  healing  of  a  palsied  man  whose 
friends  let  him  down  into  the  presence  of  Jesus  through 
the  roof.  And  so  proceeds  this  gospel  to  the  end.  It 
illustrates  the  saying  that  the  eye  sees  what  it  brings 
of  seeing,  and  the  ear  hears  what  it  brings  of  hearing. 
What  we  have  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  Peter  is  the  recollec- 
tions of  a  plain  man,  whose  processes  of  thinking  are 
practical  rather  than  philosophical.  He  listens  to  ser- 
mons with  a  somewhat  absent  mind,  but  he  looks  about 
him  with  quick  and  clear  perception.  He  makes  us 
see  what  he  saw. 

Take  for  example  another  healing  in  the  synagogue. 

And  he  entered  again  into  the  synagogue;  and  there 
was  a  man  there  which  had  a  withered  hand.  And  they 
watched  him,  whether  he  would  heal  him  on  the  sabbath 
day ;  that  they  might  accuse  him.  And  he  saith  unto  the 
man  which  had  the  withered  hand  : — "Stand  forth."  And 
he  saith  unto  them : — **Is  it  lawful  to  do  good  on  the  sab- 
bath days,  or  to  do  evil?  to  save  life,  or  to  kill?"  But 
they  held  their  peace.  And  when  he  had  looked  round 
about  on  them  with  anger,  being  grieved  for  the  hardness 
of  their  hearts,  he  saith  unto  the  man : — "Stretch  forth 
thine  hand."  And  he  stretched  it  out :  and  his  hand  was 
restored  whole  as  the  other.  And  the  Pharisees  went 
forth,  and  straightway  took  counsel  with  the  Herodians 
against  him,  how  they  might  destroy  him. 


ST.    PETER  231 

It  IS  the  description  of  an  eye-witness.  The  watching 
adversaries,  the  maimed  man  standing  up  and  stretch- 
ing forth  his  hand,  the  Master  looking  round  about  on 
the  congregation  with  grief  and  indignation:  all  this 
we  see  as  if  a  door  were  suddenly  opened  that  we 
might  look  in. 

So  again,  in  a  later  chapter. 

And  they  were  in  the  way  going  up  to  Jerusalem ;  and 
Jesus  went  before  them;  and  they  were  amazed;  and  as 
they  followed  they  were  afraid. 

On  several  occasions  we  not  only  see  the  Master  but 
hear  his  voice ;  as  if  the  sound  so  echoed  in  the  Aramaic 
words  which  he  used  that  they  could  not  be  adequately 
translated,  but  Mark  must  repeat  them  to  us  as  they 
were  repeated  to  him  by  Peter. 

Thus  it  was  when  he  restored  the  daughter  of  the 
ruler  of  the  synagogue. 

While  he  yet  spake,  there  came  from  the  ruler  of  the 
synagogue's  house  certain  which  said: — 'Thy  daughter 
is  dead ;  why  troublest  thou  the  IMaster  any  further  ?"  As 
soon  as  Jesus  heard  the  word  that  was  spoken,  he  saith 
unto  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue: — *'Be  not  afraid,  only 
believe."  And  he  suffered  no  man  to  follow  him,  save 
Peter,  and  James,  and  John  the  brother  of  James.  And 
he  cometh  to  the  house  of  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue, 
and  seeth  the  tumult,  and  them  that  wept  and  wailed 
greatly.  And  when  he  was  come  in,  he  saith  unto  them : — 
*'Why  make  ye  this  ado,  and  weep?  the  damsel  is  not 
dead,  but  sleepeth."  And  they  laughed  him  to  scorn. 
But  when  he  had  put  them  all  out,  he  taketh  the  father 
and  the  mother  of  the  damsel,  and  them  that  were  with 
him,  and  entereth  in  where  the  damsel  was  lying,  and  he 
took  the  damsel  by  the  hand,  and  said  unto  her,  "Talitha 


232        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

cumi" ;  which  is,  being  interpreted : — "Damsel,  I  say  unto 
thee,  arise."  And  straightway  the  damsel  arose,  and 
walked;  for  she  was  of  the  age  of  twelve  years.  And 
they  were  astonished  with  a  great  astonishment.  And  he 
charged  them  straitly  that  no  man  should  know  it;  and 
commanded  that  something  should  be  given  her  to  eat. 

The  voice  is  heard  again  in  the  healing  of  a  deaf 
and  dumb  man. 

And  again,  departing  from  the  coasts  of  Tyre  and 
Sidon,  he  came  unto  the  sea  of  Galilee,  through  the  midst 
of  the  coast  of  Decapolis.  And  they  bring  unto  him  one 
that  was  deaf,  and  had  an  impediment  in  his  speech ;  and 
they  beseech  him  to  put  his  hand  upon  him.  And  he  took 
him  aside  from  the  multitude,  and  put  his  fingers  into  his 
ears,  and  he  spit,  and  touched  his  tongue;  and  looking 
up  to  heaven,  he  sighed,  and  said  unto  him,  Ephphatha, 
that  is.  Be  opened.  And  straightway  his  ears  were  opened, 
and  the  string  of  his  tongue  was  loosed,  and  he  spake 
plain. 

And  again,  from  the  cross. 

At  the  ninth  hour,  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  say- 
ing, Eloi,  Eloi,  Lama  Sabacthani,  which  is,  being  inter- 
preted. My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ? 

Also,  from  this  gospel  comes  the  word  for  "father" 
^Abba. 

The  prominence  of  Peter  in  the  narrative  is  due  in 
part  to  the  temperament  which  made  him  the  first  to 
speak  and  to  act,  and  in  part  to  the  autobiographical 
source  from  which  our  information  comes.  His  name 
heads  the  list  of  apostles;  he  is  the  spokesman  of  the 
twelve;  it  is  he  who  first  declares  aloud  the  belief 


ST.    PETER  22>2> 

which  is  in  all  their  hearts,  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah, 
it  is  he  who  is  admitted  with  James  and  John  into  the 
experience  of  the  transfiguration.  At  the  same  time, 
along  with  this,  goes  a  confession  of  weakness  and 
ignorance  and  error;  as  if  Peter  in  his  denial  of  his 
Master  had  learned  a  lesson  about  himself  which  made 
pride  impossible.  Peter  speaks  for  his  companions  at 
the  transfiguration,  but  only  to  make  a  foolish  pro- 
posal, **for  he  wist  not  what  to  say."  He  proclaims 
the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  but  on  the  same  occasion  is 
reproved;  the  Lord  says,  "Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan." 
It  is  to  him  in  Gethsemane  that  Jesus  says,  "Simon, 
sleepest  thou?  couldest  not  thou  watch  one  hour?" 
And  his  vehement  protestation,  "If  I  should  die  with 
thee,  I  will  not  deny  thee  in  any  wise,"  is  presently 
followed  by  his  denial.  All  this  has  special  significance 
as  the  recollection  and  confession  of  Peter  himself. 

The  account  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus  which  is  con- 
tained in  this  gospel  describes  in  six  chapters  (1-6) 
his  work  in  Gahlee,  in  four  chapters  (7-10)  his 
departure  from  Galilee  and  his  ministry  in  the  regions 
round  about,  and  in  six  chapters  (11-16)  his  ministry 
in  Jerusalem,  during  the  Holy  Week. 

The  ministry  in  Galilee,  having  Capernaum  for 
headquarters,  came  to  a  crisis  and  conclusion  with  a 
visit  of  hostile  Pharisees  from  Jerusalem.  In  his 
contention  with  these  representatives  of  the  conven- 
tional religion  Jesus  definitely  broke  with  the  cere- 
monial law.  Righteousness,  he  said,  is  the  essential 
thing;  ritual  is  of  value  only  so  far  as  it  ministers  to 
right  conduct.    The  Pharisees  had  built  up  an  elaborate 


234        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

system  of  taboo.  They  had  made  a  hst  of  objects 
which,  being  touched,  would  render  a  man  ceremo- 
nially unclean;  they  had  inherited  a  list  of  articles  of 
food  which  would  have  a  like  effect.  Thus  on  their 
return  from  market,  lest  inadvertently  they  had 
touched  some  forbidden  object,  they  washed  their 
hands  with  a  prescribed  ceremony.  All  this,  Jesus 
swept  aside. 

Then  came  together  unto  him  the  Pharisees,  and  cer- 
tain of  the  scribes,  which  came  from  Jerusalem.  And 
when  they  saw  some  of  his  disciples  eat  bread  with  de- 
filed, that  is  to  say,  with  unwashen,  hands,  they  found 
fault.  For  the  Pharisees,  and  all  the  Jews,  except  they 
wash  their  hands  oft,  eat  not,  holding  the  tradition  of  the 
elders.  And  when  they  come  from  the  market,  except 
they  wash,  they  eat  not.  And  many  other  things  there  be, 
which  they  have  received  to  hold,  as  the  washing  of  cups, 
and  pots,  brasen  vessels,  and  of  tables.  Then  the  Phari- 
sees and  scribes  asked  him :  "Why  walk  not  thy  disciples 
according  to  the  tradition  of  the  elders,  but  eat  bread 
with  unwashen  hands?"  He  answered  and  said  unto 
them : — "Well  hath  Isaiah  prophesied  of  you  hypocrites, 
as  it  is  written.  This  people  honoureth  me  with  their 
lips.  Bat  their  heart  is  far  from  me.  Howbeit  in  vain  do 
they  worship  me,  teaching  for  doctrine  the  command- 
ments of  men.  For  laying  aside  the  commandments  of 
God,  ye  hold  the  tradition  of  men,  as  the  washing  of  pots 
and  cups :  and  many  other  such  like  things  ye  do."  And 
he  said  unto  them: — "Full  well  ye  reject  the  command- 
ment of  God,  that  ye  may  keep  your  own  tradition.  For 
Moses  said,  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother;  and, 
Whoso  curseth  father  or  mother,  let  him  die  the  death: 
but  ye  say.  If  a  man  shall  say  to  his  father  or  mother.  It 
is  Corban,  that  is  to  say,  a  gift  to  God,  [i.  e.  to  the 
Church]  by  whatsoever  thou  mightest  be  profited  by  me; 
he  shall  be  free.  And  ye  suffer  him  no  more  to  do  ought 
for  his  father  or  his  mother;  making  the  word  of  God 


ST.    PETER  235 

of  none  effect  through  your  tradition,  which  ye  have  de- 
livered :  and  many  such  Hke  things  do  ye." 

And  when  he  had  called  all  the  people  unto  him,  he 
said  unto  them : — ''Hearken  unto  me  every  one  of  you, 
and  understand :  there  is  nothing  from  without  a  man, 
that  entering  into  him  can  defile  him:  but  the  things 
which  come  out  of  him,  those  are  they  that  defile  the  man. 
If  any  man  have  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear."  And  when 
he  was  entered  into  the  house  from  the  people,  his  dis- 
ciples asked  him  concerning  the  parable.  And  he  saith 
unto  them: — **Are  ye  so  without  understanding  also? 
Do  ye  not  perceive,  that  whatsoever  thing  from  without 
entereth  into  the  man,  it  cannot  defile  him;  because  it 
entereth  not  into  his  heart,  but  into  the  belly,  and  goeth 
out  into  the  draught?"  This,  he  said,  making  all  food 
clean.  And  he  said: — 'That  which  cometh  out  of  the 
man,  that  defileth  the  man.  For  from  within,  out  of  the 
heart  of  men,  proceed  evil  thoughts,  adulteries,  fornica- 
tions, murders,  thefts,  covetousness,  wickedness,  deceit, 
lasciviousness,  an  evil  eye,  blasphemy,  pride,  foolishness : 
all  those  evil  things  come  from  within,  and  defile  the 


This  doctrine  was  too  strong  even  for  St.  Peter. 
Loyal  as  he  was,  he  did  not  follow  his  Master  here. 
Long  after,  seeing  in  a  vision  "all  manner  of  four- 
footed  beasts  of  the  earth,  and  wild  beasts,  and  creep- 
ing things,"  and  hearing  a  voice  from  heaven  itself 
saying,  "Rise,  Peter,  kill  and  eat,"  he  immediately 
answered,  "Not  so.  Lord,  for  I  have  never  eaten  any- 
thing that  is  common  or  unclean"  (Acts  10:11-14). 
As  with  Peter,  still  more  with  other  disciples.  There 
w^as  a  great  falling  away.  After  this,  leaving  eastern 
Galilee,  Jesus  went  into  the  country  about  Tyre  and 
Sidon;  thence  to  Caesarea  Philippi,  in  whose  neighbor- 
hood Peter  declared  his  messiahship  and  beheld  his 


236       how;  [TO  KNOW  THE  BIBLE 

transfiguration;  thence  through  the  region  which  lay 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Jordan,  to  Jerusalem. 

The  gospel  gives  little  indication  of  time,  except  in 
the  successive  days  of  the  final  week.  How  long  was 
the  ministry  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  we  are  not  told. 
The  record  seems  to  bring  it  all  within  the  space  of  a 
few  months,  less  than  a  year. 


XV 

THE  RECORDS  OF  ST.  MATTHEW 

OF  the  two  accounts  of  the  life  and  teachings  of 
Jesus,  given  by  those  who  actually  knew  him,  the 
Marcan  record,  derived  from  St.  Peter,  was  not 
written  till  after  Peter's  death.  The  Matthean  record 
was  probably  written  earlier  than  that. 

Three  influences  prevented  the  disciples  from  the 
immediate  composition  of  a  life  of  Christ.  One  was 
the  presence  of  so  many  who  could  tell  by  word  of 
mouth  what  he  had  said  and  done;  another  was  the 
expectation  of  his  speedy  return  to  bring  the  world 
to  an  end ;  a  third  was  the  theological  emphasis  which 
was  placed  by  St.  Paul  on  his  death  and  resurrection, 
in  comparison  with  which  nothing  else  seemed  of 
importance.  The  passing  of  the  years,  however, 
modified  these  influences.  The  number  of  personal 
witnesses  grew  steadily  smaller,  the  end  of  the  world 
seemed  more  and  more  remote,  and  the  exclusive 
interest  of  Paul  in  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ 
was  not  shared  by  those  who  had  become  Christians 
under  other  teachers.  Of  these  non-Pauline  Chris- 
tians there  were  many  in  Rome,  who  listened  eagerly 
to  the  recollections  of  Peter.  There  were  many  in 
Palestine,  where  the  Pauline  influence  was  slight.     The 

237 


238        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

Palestinian  disciples  had  local  memories  of  the  min- 
istry of  Jesus,  which  were  their  special  treasures. 
Happily  it  was  a  time  when  everybody's  memory  was 
good.  Partly  because  of  the  methods  of  instruction 
in  the  schools,  partly  because  of  the  absence  of  such 
aids  to  memory  as  we  have  in  printed  books,  people 
were  trained  to  remember  accurately.  Under  these 
favoring  conditions  the  apostle  Matthew  wrote  down 
what  was  in  his  mind  of  the  words  of  Jesus  which  he 
himself  had  heard. 

The  truth  of  the  tradition  that  it  was  Matthew  who 
wrote  the  Sayings  is  confirmed  by  the  obscurity  of  the 
man.  In  consequence  of  his  occupation  as  a  publican 
he  was  a  political  and  social  and  ecclesiastical  outsider. 
The  taxes  and  customs  which  were  collected  by  the 
publicans  went  to  Roman  rulers.  A  Jew  who  was 
thus  in  the  service  of  the  conquerors  of  the  country 
was  regarded  by  his  neighbors  in  somewhat  the  same 
way  as  a  Belgian  would  be  who  should  undertake  a 
similar  duty.  The  publicans  were  the  most  unpopular 
men  in  the  community.  If  anybody  without  actual 
knowledge  had  been  guessing  an  apostolic  writer  of 
the  Sayings,  he  would  have  guessed  Matthew  last.  We 
have  therefore  good  reason  to  believe  that  in  the 
Matthean  record  we  have  a  report  of  the  words  of 
Jesus  made  by  one  who  heard  him  say  these  things. 

It  is  plain,  however,  that  the  Matthean  record  is 
not  identical  with  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew.  Because 
this  gospel  is  in  Greek.  Between  us  and  St.  Matthew, 
as  between  us  and  St.  Peter,  is  a  translator.  And  not 
only  a  translator  but  an  editor.     For  this  gospel  is 


ST.    MATTHEW  239 

composed  of  sayings  of  Jesus  plus  almost  the  whole 
of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark.  Somebody,  about  whom 
we  have  no  information,  took  the  Marcan  account  of 
the  ministry  of  Jesus,  prefixed  to  it  narratives  of  the 
nativity,  affixed  to  it  narratives  of  the  resurrection, 
and  inserted  into  it  at  several  places  long  quotations 
from  the  Matthean  Sayings.  It  is  evident  that 
Matthew  did  not  do  this,  for  no  apostle  would  have 
been  content  to  describe  the  ministry,  of  which  he 
himself  had  been  a  part,  in  the  words  of  a  much 
younger  man  who  knew  about  it  not  by  experience  but 
by  information,  like  Mark.  It  is  likely  that  the  name 
of  Matthew  was  connected  with  this  gospel  because  so 
much — perhaps  the  whole — of  the  Matthean  record 
was  incorporated  in  it. 

A  comparison  of  Matthew  and  Mark  shows  at  a 
glance  the  great  amount  of  teaching  matter  which  was 
thus  added.  The  most  notable  contribution  is  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  Lord  is  at  the  beginning 
of  his  ministry,  many  disciples  have  gathered  about 
him,  he  instructs  them  in  the  principles  of  the  New 
Righteousness.  Ideals,  expressed  in  the  form  of 
beatitudes,  take  the  place  of  rules  and  regulations. 
The  commandments  are  interpreted  as  applying  not  to 
the  lips  or  the  hands  only  but  to  the  heart,  and  are  thus 
transformed  into  ideals.  The  duties  of  almsgiving, 
prayer  and  fasting  are  taken  out  of  the  low  level  of 
conventional  religion  and  filled  with  new  meaning  and 
purpose.  The  kingdom  and  righteousness  of  God  is 
exalted  above  all  things.  Part  of  it  consists  in  faith 
in  God,  part  of  it  in  a  new  spirit  of  fraternity.     It 


240        HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

makes  religion  positive  and  active :  the  essential  thing, 
to  which  all  else  is  subordinate,  is  to  do  the  will  of  God. 

And  seeing  the  multitudes,  he  went  up  into  a  mountain : 
and  when  he  was  set,  his  disciples  came  unto  him:  and 
he  opened  his  mouth,  and  taught  them,  saying : — 


"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit : 

For  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Blessed  are  they  that  mourn : 

For  they  shall  be  comforted. 

Blessed  are  the  meek : 

For  they  shall  inherit  the  earth. 

Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness : 

For  they  shall  be  filled. 

Blessed  are  the  merciful : 

For  they  shall  obtain  mercy. 

Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart : 

For  they  shall  see  God. 

Blessed  are  the  peacemakers : 

For  they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God. 

Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  righteous- 
ness' sake: 

For  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  per- 
secute you. 

And  shall  say  all  manner  of  eyil  against  you  falsely, 
for  my  sake. 

Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad : 

For  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven : 

For  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets  which  were  be- 
fore you." 

ii 

"Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth :  but  if  the  salt  have  lost 
its  saltness,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted  ?  it  is  thenceforth 
good  for  nothing,  but  to  be  cast  out,  and  to  be  trodden 
under  foot  of  men. 


ST.   MATTHEW  241 

"Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.  A  city  that  is  set  on  an 
hill  cannot  be  hid.  Neither  do  men  light  a  lamp,  and  put 
it  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a  lamp-stand ;  and  it  giveth  light 
unto  all  that  are  in  the  house.  Let  your  light  so  shine 
before  men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and 
glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

"Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law,  or  the 
prophets:  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil.  For 
verily  I  say  unto  you,  till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot 
or  one  title  shall  in  no  wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be 
fulfilled.  Whosoever  therefore  shall  break  one  of  these 
least  commandments,  and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be 
called  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven :  but  whosoever 
shall  do  and  teach  them,  the  same  shall  be  called  great  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  For  I  say  unto  you,  that  except 
your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven." 

iii 

"Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time. 
Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  and  whosoever  shall  kill  shall  be  in 
danger  of  the  judgment :  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  whoso- 
ever is  angry  with  his  brother  without  a  cause  shall  be 
in  danger  of  the  judgment:  and  whosoever  shall  say  to 
his  brother,  Raca,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  council:  but 
whosoever  shall  say,  Thou  fool,  shall  be  in  danger  of  hell 
fire.  Therefore  if  thou  bring  thy  gift  to  the  altar,  and 
there  rememberest  that  thy  brother  hath  ought  against 
thee;  leave  there  thy  gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  thy 
way;  first  be  reconciled  to  thy  brother,  and  then  come 
and  ofiFer  thy  gift.  Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly, 
whiles  thou  art  in  the  way  with  him ;  lest  at  any  time  the 
adversary  deliver  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge  de- 
liver thee  to  the  officer,  and  thou  be  cast  into  prison. 
Verily  I  say  unto  thee.  Thou  shalt  by  no  means  come  out 
thence,  till  thou  hast  paid  the  uttermost  farthing. 

"Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time. 
Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery :  but  I  say  unto  you,  that 
whosoever  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her  hath 


242        HOW   JO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

committed  adultery  with  her  already  in  his  heart.  And 
if  thy  right  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out,  and  cast  it  from 
thee :  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of  thy  members 
should  perish,  and  not  that  thy  whole  body  should  be 
cast  into  hell.  And  if  thy  right  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it 
off,  and  cast  it  from  thee :  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that 
one  of  thy  members  should  perish,  and  not  that  thy  whole 
body  should  be  cast  into  hell. 

"It  hath  been  said.  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife, 
let  him  give  her  a  writing  of  divorcement :  but  I  say  unto 
you,  that  whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  saving  for 
the  cause  of  fornication,  causeth  her  to  commit  adultery : 
and  whosoever  shall  marry  her  that  is  divorced  commit- 
teth  adultery. 

"Again,  ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said  by  them 
of  old  time,  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself,  but  shalt 
perform  unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths :  but  I  say  unto  you, 
swear  not  at  all;  neither  by  heaven;  for  it  is  God's 
throne :  nor  by  the  earth ;  for  it  is  his  footstool :  neither 
by  Jerusalem;  for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great  King. 
Neither  shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head,  because  thou  canst 
not  make  one  hair  white  or  black.  But  let  your  com- 
munication be,  Yea,  yea ;  Nay,  nay :  for  whatsoever  is 
more  than  these  cometh  of  evil. 

"Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said.  An  eye  for  an 
eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth :  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye 
resist  not  evil :  but  whosoever  shall  smite  thee  on  thy  right 
cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other  also.  And  if  any  man  will 
sue  thee  at  the  law,  and  take  away  thy  coat,  let  him  have 
thy  cloak  also.  And  whosoever  shall  compel  thee  to  go  a 
mile,  go  with  him  twain.  Give  to  him  that  asketh  thee, 
and  from  him  that  would  borrow  of  thee  turn  not  thou 
away. 

"Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said.  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbour,  and  hate  thine  enemy.  But  I  say  unto 
you,  love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do 
good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which 
despitef ully  use  you,  and  persecute  you ;  that  ye  may  be 
the  children  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven:  for  he 
maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and 


ST.    MATTHEW  243 

sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust.  For  if  ye 
love  them  which  love  you,  what  reward  have  ye?  do  not 
even  the  publicans  the  same?  And  if  ye  salute  your 
brethren  only,  what  do  ye  more  than  others  ?  do  not  even 
the  publicans  so?  Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect." 

iv 

"Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  alms  before  men,  to 
be  seen  of  them:  otherwise  ye  have  no  reward  of  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.  Therefore  when  thou  doest 
thine  alms,  do  not  sound  a  trumpet  before  thee,  as  the 
hypocrites  do  in  the  synagogues  and  in  the  streets,  that 
they  may  have  glory  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  they 
have  their  reward.  But  when  thou  doest  alms,  let  not  thy 
left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand  doeth:  that  thine 
alms  may  be  in  secret :  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in 
secret  himself  shall  reward  thee  openly. 

"And  when  thou  prayest,  thou  shalt  not  be  as  the 
hypocrites  are :  for  they  love  to  pray  standing  in  the 
synagogues  and  in  the  corners  of  the  streets,  that  they 
may  be  seen  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  they  have 
their  reward.  But  thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into 
thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy 
Father  which  is  in  secret ;  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in 
secret  shall  reward  thee  openly.  But  when  ye  pray,  use 
not  vain  repetitions,  as  the  heathen  do:  for  they  think 
that  they  shall  be  heard  for  their  much  speaking.  Be  not 
ye  therefore  like  unto  them:  for  your  Father  knowest 
what  things  ye  have  need  of,  before  ye  ask  him.  After 
this  manner  therefore  pray  ye : 

Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven. 

Hallowed  be  thy  name. 

Thy  kingdom  come. 

Thy  will  be  done  in  earth,  as  It  is  in  heaven. 

Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread. 

And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our  debtors. 

And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil : 


244        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

For  thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory, 

for  ever. 
Amen. 

For  if  ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly 
Father  will  also  forgive  you :  but  if  ye  forgive  not  men 
their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father  forgive  your 
trespasses. 

"Moreover  when  ye  fast,  be  not,  as  the  hypocrites,  of 
a  sad  countenance:  for  they  disfigure  their  faces,  that 
they  may  appear  unto  men  to  fast.  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
they  have  their  reward.  But  thou,  when  thou  fastest, 
anoint  thine  head,  and  wash  thy  face ;  that  thou  appear 
not  unto  men  to  fast,  but  unto  thy  Father  which  is  in  se- 
cret :  and  thy  Father,  which  seeth  in  secret,  shall  reward 
thee  openly." 

V 

"Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth,  where 
moth  and  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  break 
through  and  steal :  but  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in 
heaven,  where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and 
where  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal :  for  where 
your  treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also.  The  light 
of  the  body  is  the  eye :  if  therefore  thine  eye  be  single, 
thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light.  But  if  thine  eye  be 
evil,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  darkness.  If  there- 
fore the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness  how  great  is  that 
darkness !  No  man  can  serve  two  masters :  for  either  he 
will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other ;  or  else  he  will  hold 
to  the  one,  and  despise  the  other.  Ye  cannot  serve  God 
and  mammon.  Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  take  no  thought 
for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink; 
nor  yet  for  your  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on.  Is  not  the 
life  more  than  meat,  and  the  body  than  raiment? 
Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air : 
For  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap,  nor  gather  into 

barns ; 
Yet  your  heavenly  Father  f eedeth  them. 
Are  ye  not  much  better  than  they  ? 


ST.    MATTHEW  245 

Which  of  you  by  taking  thought  can  add  one  cubit  unto 
his  stature  ?  And  why  take  ye  thought  for  raiment  ? 

Consider  the  HHes  of  the  field,  how  they  grow; 

They  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin : 

And  yet  I  say  unto  you, 

That  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory 

Was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these. 

Wherefore,  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field, 

Which  to  day  is,  and  to  morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven, 

Shall  he  not  much  more  clothe  you, 

Oye  of  little  faith? 
Therefore  take  no  thought,  saying,  What  shall  we  eat? 
or  What  shall  we  drink?  or.  Wherewithal  shall  we  be 
clothed?  (for  after  all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles  seek) 
for  your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of 
all  these  things.  But  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  his  righteousness ;  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you.  Take  therefore  no  thought  of  the  morrow :  for 
the  morrow  shall  take  thought  for  the  things  of  itself. 
Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof." 


VI 

"Jtidge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged.  For  with  what 
judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged:  and  with  what 
measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again.  And 
why  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye, 
but  considerest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own  eye? 
Or  how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy  brother.  Let  me  pull  out  the 
mote  out  of  thine  eye ;  and,  behold,  a  beam  is  in  thine 
own  eye  ?  Thou  hypocrite,  first  cast  out  the  beam  out  of 
thine  own  eye ;  and  then  shalt  thou  see  clearly  to  cast 
out  the  mote  out  of  thy  brother's  eye.  Give  not  that 
which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs,  neither  cast  ye  your  pearls 
before  swine,  lest  they  trample  them  under  their  feet, 
and  turn  again  and  rend  you.  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given 
you ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened 
unto  you.  For  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth ;  and  he 
that  seeketh  findeth ;  and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be 
opened.   Or  what  man  is  there  of  you,  whom  if  his  son 


246        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

ask  bread,  will  he  give  him  a  vStone?  Or  if  he  a*k  a 
fish,  will  he  give  him  a  serpent?  If  ye  then,  being  evil, 
know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how 
much  more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  give 
good  things  to  them  that  ask  him?  Therefore  all  things 
whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them :  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets." 

yii 

"Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait  gate:  for  wide  is  the  gate, 
and  broad  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many 
there  be  which  go  in  thereat:  because  strait  is  the  gate, 
and  narrow  the  way,  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few 
there  be  that  find  it. 

''Beware  of  false  prophets,  which  come  to  you  in 
sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly  they  are  ravening  wolves. 
Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits.  Do  men  gather 
grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles  ?  Even  so  every  good 
tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit ;  but  a  corrupt  tree  bringeth 
forth  evil  fruit.  A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil 
fruit,  neither  can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit. 
Every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn 
down,  and  cast  into  the  fire.  Wherefore  by  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them.  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me, 
Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but 
he  that  doeth  the  Avill  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 
Many  will  say  to  me  in  that  day.  Lord,  Lord,  have  we 
not  prophesied  in  thy  name?  and  in  thy  name  have  cast 
out  devils?  and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful 
works?  And  then  will  I  profess  unto  them,  I  never  knew 
you :  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity. 

'Therefore  whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine, 
and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man,  which 
built  his  house  upon  a  rock :  and  the  rain  descended,  and 
the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that 
house;  and  it  fell  not:  for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock. 
And  every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine,  and 
doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  foolish  man,  which 
built  his  house  upon  the  sand:  and  the  rain  descended, 


ST.    MATTHEW  247 

and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon 
that  house ;  and  it  fell :  and  great  was  the  fall  of  it." 

The  report  of  thi.s  sermon  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke 
is  much  shorter  (Lk.  6:17-49)  ;  but  other  parts  appear 
in  other  chapters,  where  they  are  connected  with  other 
occasions.  Thus  the  Lord's  Prayer  was  given  when 
the  disciples  asked  to  be  taught  to  pray,  and  the 
admonition  as  to  the  strait  gate  was  an  answer  to  those 
who  asked  "Are  there  few  that  be  saved  ?"  The  infer- 
ence is  that  the  compiler  of  Matthew  assembled  into  a 
long  discourse  the  Sayings  which  Luke  quoted  as  he 
found  them  in  the  Matthean  record,  treating  them 
topically  rather  than  chronologically.  It  may  be  that 
the  compiler  modified  some  of  the  Sayings,  feeling 
that  Jesus  must  have  said  "Blessed  are  the  poor  in 
spirit,"  rather  than  "Blessed  be  ye  poor,"  and  that  he 
must  have  made  at  least  one  exception  to  the  rule, 
"Every  one  that  putteth  away  his  wife  and  marrieth 
another  committeth  adultery." 

It  is  to  the  compiler  of  the  gospel,  not  to  the  record 
which  Matthew  made,  that  we  owe  the  many  refer- 
ences to  Old  Testament  prophecy.  Matthew,  as  a 
publican  and  outsider,  would  hardly  have  quoted  so 
readily.  It  may  be  to  the  same  hand  that  we  owe  the 
famous  commission  to  St.  Peter  concerning  the 
foundation  of  the  church.  For  we  find  Mark  giving 
an  account  of  Peter's  confession  of  the  messiahship  of 
Jesus,  and  Matthew  quoting  him  word  for  word 
through  the  sentence  "Thou  art  the  Christ,"  to  which 
he  adds  "the  Son  of  the  living  God."     Here  Mark 


248       HOW  TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

continues,  "And  he  charged  them  that  they  should  tell 
no  man  of  him"  {Mk.  8:27-33).  But  Matthew,  fol- 
lowing some  other  source  of  information,  inserts, 

And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him : — 
"Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona :  for  flesh  and  blood 
hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is 
in  heaven.  And  I  say  also  unto  thee,  that  thou  art  Peter, 
and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church ;  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  And  I  will  give  unto 
thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven:  and  whatso- 
ever thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven : 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed 
in  heaven." 

Then  he  returns  to  his  copying,  "And  he  charged  them 
that  they  should  tell  no  man  of  him,"  as  in  Mark 
(ML  16:17-20). 

It  may  be  that  we  owe  also  to  the  compiler  of  this 
gospel  the  uncommonly  strong  expressions  which  are 
used  in  it  regarding  everlasting  punishment.  The 
account  of  the  Last  Judgment  (Mt.  25:31-46)  may 
have  been  in  the  record  which  St.  Matthew  made; 
Jesus  may  have  conditioned  heaven  and  hell  not  on 
character  but  on  the  exercise  of  charity,  and  may  have 
represented  himself  as  saying  to  those  on  the  left  hand, 
"Depart,  ye  cursed";  but  St.  Luke  did  not  quote  it. 
It  seems  to  come  to  us  not  from  what  the  apostle 
Matthew  heard  Jesus  say,  but  from  what  the  compiler 
of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  found  in  some  source  of 
information  about  which  we  know  nothing. 

The  fact  that  the  report  of  a  word  or  deed  of  Jesus 
appears  in  only  one  gospel  does  not  of  itself  bring  it 
into  question;  for  this  is  the  case,  for  example,  with 


ST.    MATTHEW  249 

the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son.  If,  however,  a  ques- 
tion arises,  as,  for  example,  concerning  such  a  miracle 
as  the  finding  of  a  coin  in  the  fish's  mouth  (Mt.  17 :24- 
27),  then  we  may  recognize  the  fact  that  the  greater 
certainty  attaches  to  those  passages  in  which  Matthew 
and  Luke  agree.  Here  we  may  be  sure  that  we  are 
listening  to  the  words  which  Matthew  heard. 


XVI 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  ST.   LUKE 


THE  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew  may  be  described  as  a 
second  edition  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark,  adding 
precious  records  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  notably  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  Gospel  of  St.  Luke  may 
be  described  as  a  third  edition  of  the  Gospel  of  St. 
Mark,  adding  not  only  the  records  of  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  which  were  written  by  St.  Matthew  but  also  the 
reports  of  other  teachings ;  these  are  contained  for  the 
most  part  in  nine  chapters  {Lk.  9 :51-18 :14). 

The  preface  shows  the  author  studying  his  sources, 
reading  such  lives  of  Christ  as  have  already  been 
written,  gaining  in  this  way  a  "perfect  understanding'* 
of  his  subject,  and  writing  a  gospel  which  he  believes 
to  be  better  than  any  which  have  preceded  it. 

Forasmuch  as  many  have  taken  in  hand  to  set  forth  in 
order  a  declaration  of  those  things  which  are  most  surely 
believed  among  us,  even  as  they  delivered  them  unto  us, 
which  from  the  beginning  were  eyewitnesses,  and  min- 
isters of  the  word ;  it  seemed  good  to  me  also,  having 
had  perfect  understanding  of  all  things  from  the  very 
first,  to  write  unto  thee  in  order,  most  excellent  Theophi- 
lus,  that  thou  mightest  know  the  certainty  of  those  things, 
wherein  thou  hast  been  instructed. 

250 


ST.    LUKE  251 

He  took  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark,  prefixed  to  it 
narratives  of  the  nativity  which  are  entirely  different 
from  those  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  affixed 
narratives  of  the  resurrection  which  are  different  from 
those  in  Matthew's  gospel,  and  inserted  into  the  frame- 
work of  St.  Mark  many  passages  which  are  so  like 
those  in  Matthew  as  to  indicate  their  derivation  from 
the  same  source,  and  many  other  passages  whose  differ-^ 
ence  from  Matthew  indicate  a  different  source. 

The  nine  chapters  which  are  peculiar  to  Luke  begin 
with  the  refusal  of  Jesus  to  call  down  fire  on  an  offend- 
ing village  of  Samaritans  (9:51-56).  They  include 
the  account  of  the  Samaritan  who,  alone  of  ten  who 
had  been  healed,  returned  to  give  thanks  (17:11-19). 
And  they  contain  the  parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan 
(10:25-37).  In  answer  to  the  question,  "Who  is  my 
neighbor?"  Jesus  said: 

"A  certain  man  went  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho, 
and  fell  among  thieves,  which  stripped  him  of  his  rai- 
ment, and  wounded  him,  and  departed,  leaving  him  half 
dead.  And  by  chance  there  came  down  a  certain  priest 
that  way:  and  when  he  saw  him,  he  passed  by  on  the 
other  side.  And  likewise  a  Levite,  when  he  was  at  the 
place,  came  and  looked  on  him,  and  passed  by  on  the 
other  side.  But  a  certain  Samaritan,  as  he  journeyed, 
came  where  he  was :  and  when  he  saw  him,  he  had  com- 
passion on  him,  and  went  to  him,  and  bound  up  his 
wounds,  pouring  in  oil  and  wine,  and  set  him  on  his  own 
beast,  and  brought  him  to  an  inn,  and  took  care  of  him. 
And  on  the  morrow  when  he  departed,  he  took  out  two 
pence,  and  gave  them  to  the  host,  and  said  unto  him.  Take 
care  of  him;  and  whatsoever  thou  spendest  more,  when 
I  come  again,  I  will  repay  thee.  Which  now  of  these 
three,  thinkest  thou,  was  neighbour  unto  him  that  fell 


252        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

among  the  thieves?"  And  he  said: — "He  that  shewed 
mercy  on  him."  Then  said  Jesus  unto  him: — "Go,  and 
do  thou  likewise." 

These  chapters  contrast  a  Pharisee  with  a  publican, 
to  the  great  advantage  of  the  publican  (18:9-14),  and 
they  are  followed  by  an  account  of  a  visit  of  Jesus  to 
Jericho,  where  he  was  the  guest  of  a  publican,  to  the 
scandal  of  all  good  churchmen. 

Remembering  how  publicans  and  Samaritans  were 
generally  regarded  at  this  time,  the  preservation  of 
these  incidents  suggests  that  St.  Luke  was  interested 
in  the  widening  of  the  circle  of  Christian  sympathy. 
It  pleased  him  to  find  within  that  widening  circle  the 
neglected  poor,  whom  Jesus  blessed  in  the  beatitudes, 
and  of  whom  he  spoke  in  the  parable  of  the  Rich  Man 
and  Lazarus : 

"There  was  a  certain  rich  man,  which  was  clothed  in 
purple  and  fine  linen,  and  fared  sumptuously  every  day: 
and  there  was  a  certain  beggar  named  Lazarus,  which) 
was  laid  at  his  gate,  full  of  sores,  and  desiring  to  be  fed 
with  the  crumbs  which  fell  from  the  rich  man's  table: 
moreover  the  dogs  came  and  licked  his  sores.  And  it 
came  to  pass,  that  the  beggar  died,  and  was  carried  by 
the  angels  into  Abraham's  bosom :  the  rich  man  also  died, 
and  was  buried:  and  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being 
in  torments,  and  seeth  Abraham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in 
his  bosom.  And  he  cried  and  said,  Father  Abraham,  have 
mercy  on  me,  and  send  Lazarus  that  he  may  dip  the  tip 
of  his  finger  in  water,  and  cool  my  tongue ;  for  I  am  tor- 
mented in  this  flame.  But  Abraham  said.  Son,  remember 
that  thou  in  thy  lifetime  receivedst  thy  good  things,  and 
likewise  Lazarus  evil  things:  but  now  he  is  comforted, 
and  thou  art  tormented.  And  beside  all  this,  between  us 
and  you  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed:  so  that  they  which 


ST.    LUKE  253 

would  pass  from  hence  to  you  cannot:  neither  can  they 
pass  to  us,  that  would  come  from  thence.  Then  he  said, 
I  pray  thee  therefore,  father,  that  thou  wouldest  send 
him  to  my  father's  house :  for  I  have  five  brethren ;  that 
he  may  testify  unto  them,  lest  they  also  come  into  this 
place  of  torment.  Abraham  saith  unto  him,  They  have 
Moses  and  the  prophets :  let  them  hear  them.  And  he 
said.  Nay,  father  Abraham :  but  if  one  went  unto  them 
from  the  dead,  they  will  repent.  And  he  said  unto  him, 
If  they  hear  not  IMoses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they 
be  persuaded,  though  one  rose  from  the  dead." 

He  recorded  the  new  law  of  Christian  hospitality. 

"When  thou  makest  a  dinner  or  a  supper,  call  not  thy 
friends,  nor  thy  brethren,  neither  thy  kinsmen,  nor  thy 
rich  neighbours ;  lest  they  also  bid  thee  again,  and  a  rec- 
ompense be  made  thee.  But  when  thou  makest  a  feast, 
call  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind:  and  thou 
shalt  be  blessed;  for  they  cannot  recompense  thee:  for 
thou  shalt  be  recompensed  at  the  resurrection  of  the 
just." 

He  preserved  sayings  of  Jesus  in  which  he  appeared 
as  the  friend  not  only  of  the  poor  but  of  the  sinners. 
Especially  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son : 

"A  certain  man  had  two  sons :  and  the  younger  of  them 
said  to  his  father,  Father,  give  me  the  portion  of  goods 
that  falleth  to  me.  And  he  divided  unto  them  his  living. 
And  not  many  days  after  the  younger  son  gathered  all 
together,  and  took  his  journey  into  a  far  country,  and 
there  wasted  his  substance  in  riotous  living.  And  when 
he  had  spent  all,  there  arose  a  mighty  famine  in  that 
land;  and  he  began  to  be  in  want.  And  he  went  and 
joined  himself  to  a  citizen  of  that  country;  and  he  sent 
him  into  his  fields  to  feed  swine.  And  he  would  fain  have 
filled  his  belly  with  the  husks  that  the  swine  did  eat :  and 


254        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

no  man  gave  unto  him.  And  when  he  came  to  himself, 
he  said,  How  many  hired  servants  of  my  father's  have 
bread  enough  and  to  spare,  and  I  perish  with  hunger !  I 
will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  will  say  unto  him, 
Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven,  and  before  thee, 
and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son :  make  me 
as  one  of  thy  hired  servants.  And  he  arose,  and  came  to 
his  father.  But  when  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off,  his 
father  saw  him,  and  had  compassion,  and  ran,  and  fell 
on  his  neck,  and  kissed  him.  And  the  son  said  unto  him. 
Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven,  and  in  thy  sight, 
and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son.  But  the 
father  said  to  his  servants.  Bring  forth  the  best  robe, 
and  put  it  on  him ;  and  put  a  ring  on  his  hand,  and  shoes 
on  his  feet :  and  bring  hither  the  fatted  calf,  and  kill  it ; 
and  let  us  eat,  and  be  merry :  for  this  my  son  was  dead, 
and  is  alive  again ;  he  was  lost,  and  is  found.  And  they 
began  to  be  merry.  Now  his  elder  son  was  in  the  field: 
and  as  he  came  and  drew  nigh  to  the  house,  he  heard 
music  and  dancing.  And  he  called  one  of  the  servants, 
and  asked  what  these  things  meant.  And  he  said  unto 
him.  Thy  brother  is  come ;  and  thy  father  hath  killed  the 
fatted  calf,  because  he  hath  received  him  safe  and  sound. 
And  he  was  angry,  and  would  not  go  in :  therefore  came 
his  father  out,  and  intreated  him.  And  he  answering 
said  to  his  father,  Lo,  these  many  years  do  I  serve  thee, 
neither  transgressed  I  at  any  time  thy  commandment: 
and  yet  thou  never  gavest  me  a  kid,  that  I  might  make 
merry  with  my  friends :  but  as  soon  as  this  thy  son  was 
come,  which  hath  devoured  thy  living  with  harlots,  thou 
hast  killed  for  him  the  fatted  calf.  And  he  said  unto 
him,  Son,  thou  art  ever  with  me,  and  all  that  I  have  is 
thine.  It  was  meet  that  we  should  make  merry,  and  be 
glad :  for  this  thy  brother  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again ; 
and  was  lost,  and  is  found." 

The  preservation  in  Luke  of  these  records  of  the 
dealings  of  Jesus  with  Samaritans  and  publicans  and 
poor  folk  and  sinners  marks  this  as  the  social  gospel. 


ST.    LUKE  255 

Its  characteristic  note  is  sounded  at  the  beginning  in 
the  Magnificat. 

"My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord, 

And  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour. 

For  he  hath  regarded  the  low  estate  of  his  hand- 
maiden : 

For,  behold,  from  henceforth  all  generations  shall 
call  me  blessed. 

For  he  that  is  mighty  hath  done  to  me  great  things ; 

And  holy  is  his  name. 

And  his  mercy  is  from  generation  to  generation. 

On  them  that  fear  him. 

He  hath  shewed  strength  with  his  arm ; 

He  hath  scattered  the  proud  in  the  imagination  of 
their  hearts. 

He  hath  put  down  the  mighty  from  their  seats, 

And  exalted  them  of  low  degree. 

He  hath  filled  the  hungry  with  good  things ; 

And  the  rich  he  hath  sent  empty  away. 

He  hath  holpen  his  servant  Israel, 

In  remembrance  of  his  mercy; 

As  he  spake  to  our  fathers, 

To  Abraham,  and  to  his  seed  for  ever." 

Upon  which  King  Robert  of  Sicily  made  the  prudent 
comment, 

"  'Tis  well  that  such  seditious  words  are  sung 
Only  by  priests,  and  in  the  Latin  tongue." 

The  holy  mother  of  the  Magnificat  is  joined  in  this 
gospel  by  the  women  who  ministered  to  the  Master 
(8:2,  3;  23  :49,55),  and  by  the  women  who  wept  and 
bewailed  him  as  he  went  to  his  crucifixion  (23  :27,28). 
It  is  Luke  who  makes  us  acquainted  with  Mary  and 
Martha  (10 :38-42) .     It  is  he  who  describes  the  raising 


256        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

of  the  dead  man  at  Nain,  calling  our  attention  to  the 
fact  that  he  was  "the  only  son  of  his  mother,  and  she 
was  a  widow/'  and  also  to  the  fact  that  when  the  lad 
was  brought  back  to  life  Jesus  "delivered  him  to  his 
mother."  (7:11-15).  These  are  illustrations  of  a 
quality  of  tenderness  which  is  characteristic  of  this 
writer.  They  reveal  in  him  "an  understanding  heart." 
The  Luke  whose  name  is  associated  with  this  gospel 
is  called  by  St.  Paul  "the  beloved  physician,"  and 
perhaps  came  into  the  Christian  company  by  being 
called  to  the  aid  of  Paul  in  some  of  his  many  times  of 
sickness.  The  others  whose  names  occur  with  his  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  (4:12-14)  appear  to  be 
Gentiles.  They  are  distinguished  from  their  com- 
panions who  are  Jews  (4:11).  In  that  case  Luke  is 
the  only  Gentile  whose  writings  are  included  in  the 
Bible.  Tradition  connects  him  with  Antioch,  but  his 
appearance  in  the  Acts  connects  him  with  Philippi. 
Wherever  he  lived  he  was  by  occupation  a  physician, 
and  probably  by  religion  a  pagan,  when  Paul  met  him. 
In  Acts  (27:2)  the  writer  of  that  history,  using  the 
pronoun  "we,"  speaks  of  Aristarchus  as  one  of  three 
who  are  setting  out  for  Rome — Paul,  Aristarchus  and 
the  author.  In  Philemon  24,  Paul  writing  from  Rome 
mentions  Aristarchus  and  Luke  together.  It  is  Luke, 
then,  who  writes  what  are  called  the  "we"  passages  in 
the  Acts.  They  begin  in  the  sixteenth  chapter  ( 16 :10) , 
and  continue  with  some  interruptions  to  the  end  of  the 
book.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Acts  the  writer  refers 
to  a  "former  treatise,"  addressing  the  same  Theophilus 


ST.    LUKE  257 

to  whom  the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke  is  dedicated.  It 
appears,  therefore,  that  these  two  books,  Luke  and 
Acts  J  are  from  the  same  hand,  and  were  written  by  that 
beloved  physician  who  was  St.  Paul's  companion. 


The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  in  two  parts,  of  which 
the  first  (1-12)  is  mainly  an  account  of  the  acts  of 
St.  Peter,  and  the  second  (13-28)  is  mainly  an  account 
of  the  acts  of  St.  Paul.  In  the  first  part  the  Christian 
mission  is  chiefly  an  appeal  to  the  Jews,  in  the  second 
part  it  is  chiefly  an  appeal  to  the  Gentiles. 

1.  The  book  begins  in  the  Jewish  Church.  There 
are  Jews  who  have  found  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth  the 
promised  deliverer,  the  Messiah,  of  their  race.  But 
they  are  few  in  number ;  they  are  not  yet  called  Chris- 
tians; and  they  have  no  more  idea  of  separating  from 
the  historic  church  than  St.  Francis  had  when  he 
founded  the  order  of  the  Friars  Minor.  They  are  a 
society  within  the  church.  They  are  Jews  plus.  The 
society  takes  some  necessary  steps  toward  organiza- 
tion :  the  number  of  apostles  is  restored  to  twelve,  by 
electing  Matthias  in  the  place  of  Judas;  and  the 
apostles  are  assisted  in  their  work  by  the  appointment 
of  seven  helpers.  But  twelve  and  seven  are  both  of 
them  Jewish  numbers.  The  Christians  are  still  Jews. 
Their  highest  hope  is  that  they  may  be  successful  in 
converting  the  church  to  their  new  faith. 

This  hope,  however,  is  defeated.     Stephen,  main- 


258        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

taining  the  new  faith  in  one  of  the  synagogues,  is 
arrested  and  brought  before  the  rulers  of  the  church, 
and  by  their  direction  is  stoned  to  death.  The  Chris- 
tians are  persecuted,  so  that  they  are  forced  not  only 
out  of  the  church  but  out  of  the  city.  In  their  flight, 
seeking  refuge  in  Samaria  and  other  places,  they 
preach  their  gospel,  and  many  hear  them,  and  become 
members  of  their  society.  Still,  they  who  are  thus 
admitted  are  all  of  them  Jews;  except  the  Samaritans 
who  are  half- Jews,  and  excepting  a  centurion  in 
Caesarea. 

The  receiving  of  this  centurion  shows  how  far  the 
apostles  were  from  the  idea  that  anybody  could  become 
a  member  of  their  Christian  society  without  being  first 
a  Jew.  For  Peter,  who  hears  in  a  vision  a  voice  from 
heaven  telling  him  to  break  down  part  of  the  barrier 
between  Jews  and  Gentiles,  immediately  replies,  **Not 
so,  Lord !"  He  obeys,  however,  and  tells  the  centurion 
that  God  has  shown  him  that  he  is  not  to  call  any  man 
common  or  unclean.  "Of  a  truth,"  he  adds,  "I  per- 
ceive that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  but  in  every 
nation  he  that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness 
is  accepted  with  him."  And  to  this  the  brethren  in 
Jerusalem  consent,  who  when  they  had  heard  these 
things  "held  their  peace  and  glorified  God,  saying, 
Then  hath  God  also  to  the  Gentiles  granted  repentance 
unto  life."  But  this  was  by  no  means  the  general 
opinion.  It  was  still  maintained  by  most  conservative 
churchmen  that  Gentiles  must  first  become  Jews  before 
they  could  be  Christians;  as  in  the  Middle  Ages  any- 
body who  desired  to  become  a  member  of  the  Order  of 


ST.   LUKE  259 

St.  Francis  must  first  become  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

This  situation  was  changed  by  the  conversion  of 
Saul,  commonly  called  Paul. 

Paul  had  been  brought  up  in  Tarsus,  a  Gentile  city, 
the  seat  of  a  great  university.  He  had  thus  been  made 
acquainted  with  Gentile  people  and  with  Gentile  ideas. 
Both  his  early  surroundings  and  his  temperament  had 
made  him  impatient  of  the  narrowness  of  Judaism  and 
of  its  mechanical  method  of  salvation.  He  had  tried 
hard  to  enter  into  salvation  by  keeping  the  law,  that  is, 
by  obeying  a  great  number  of  rules,  some  of  them 
moral,  but  many  of  them  ecclesiastical  and  ritual;  he 
had  observed  the  appointed  days,  and  had  been  careful 
to  eat  only  the  prescribed  kinds  of  food.  But  he  had 
not  succeeded.  He  had  a  profound  consciousness  of 
sin,  for  which  his  religion  gave  him  no  relief.  His 
controversy  with  Stephen  had  brought  to  his  attention 
a  broader  conception  of  the  relation  of  God  to  the 
world  outside  of  Judaism,  and  a  way  of  salvation  not 
by  the  works  of  the  Jewish  law  but  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  and  union  with  his  spirit.  This  he  had  at  first 
resented.  He  compared  himself  to  an  ox  which  feels 
the  pricks  of  the  goad  urging  him  on,  but  kicks  back. 
As  a  good  churchman,  "a  Pharisee  of  the  Pharisees" 
as  he  said,  he  contended  against  these  disturbing  ideas. 
He  was  unwilling  to  confess  either  in  controversy  or 
in  communion  with  his  own  spirit  that  there  could  be 
salvation  outside  the  church,  or  by  means  not  recog- 
nized by  the  church.  Then  suddenly,  as  a  shock  of 
electricity  separates  the  chemical  elements  of  a  solu- 


260        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

tion,  an  experience  on  the  way  to  Damascus  clarified 
his  troubled  mind.  He  heard  a  divine  voice,  saying, 
*T  send  thee  unto  the  Gentiles." 

After  considering  this  great  matter  for  a  long  time — ^ 
three  years  in  Damascus,  eleven  years  in  Syria  and 
Cilicia, — working  out  the  inferences  and  conclusions 
of  it  in  his  own  mind  and  by  processes  of  missionary 
experience,  he  went  to  the  Gentiles.  This  he  did  with 
some  hesitation,  even  after  this  extended  period  of 
study,  and  in  every  place  he  addressed  the  Jews  first. 
But  there  were  Gentile  hearers  who  welcomed  what  he 
said,  while  the  Jews  refused  it.  The  initial  proposi- 
tion of  his  preaching,  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  the 
Jews  rejected.  At  last  he  turned  to  the  Gentiles. 

2.  The  second  part  of  the  Acts  (13-28)  is  an 
account  of  this  Gentile  Mission. 

It  describes  in  the  first  place  (13-15)  the  trans- 
formation of  the  Christian  society  into  the  Christian 
Church.  The  mission  began  with  the  Evangelization 
of  Galatia.  A  great  number  of  Gentiles  were  obedient 
to  the  faith  as  Paul  preached  it,  and  entered  thus  into 
the  "kingdom  of  God,"  and  Paul  effected  some  sort  of 
organization  among  them,  ordaining  in  every  place 
"elders"  who  should  have  charge  over  them.  At  this 
the  conservative  brethren  took  alarm,  and  sent  word  to 
Galatia  to  the  effect  that  the  Christians  were  a  society 
in  the  Jewish  Church,  into  which  entrance  could  be  had 
only  by  the  church  door.  Thereupon  the  matter  was 
brought  up  for  discussion  and  decision.  A  conference 
was  held  at  Jerusalem.  The  conservatives  insisted  that 
it  was  necessary  to  circumcise  the  Gentiles  and  to 


ST.    LUKE  261 

compel  them  to  keep  the  law  of  Moses.  They  had  on 
their  side  both  the  Church  and  the  Bible.  Their 
position  was  validated  by  the  rubrics  and  the  canons, 
and  the  canons  and  the  rubrics  rested  safely  on  plain 
texts  of  holy  scriptures.  On  the  other  hand,  Paul  and 
Barnabas,  coming  from  their  successes  in  Galatia, 
declared  that  under  their  own  observation  and  in  their 
own  experience  God  himself  had  received  the  Gentiles. 
They  balanced  the  conditions  of  the  present  against 
the  precedents  of  the  past.  They  maintained  that  God 
had  shown  them  a  new  way.  And  with  them  agreed 
Peter,  who  remembered  his  vision  on  the  housetop  and 
his  visit  to  the  Gentile  centurion;  and  even  James,  to 
whom  the  conservatives  looked  for  leadership.  When 
the  brethren,  under  the  impression  made  by  these 
speakers,  agreed  that  Gentiles  might  be  Christians  in 
good  standing  without  being  Jews,  the  Christian 
Church  came  definitely  into  being.  It  came  into  being 
in  obedience  to  the  "inner  light,"  in  defiance  of  the 
sanctions  of  authority.  This,  they  said,  "seemed  good 
to  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to  us." 

Nothing  in  the  remaining  chapters  of  the  Acts  is 
quite  so  important  as  this  decisive  action.  Paul  pro- 
ceeded with  his  mission  to  the  Gentiles.  He  undertook 
the  Evangelization  of  Macedonia  (16:9-17:14), 
preaching  in  Philippi  and  Thessalonica ;  and  the  Evan- 
gelization of  Achaia  (17:15-18:18),  preaching  in 
Athens  and  Corinth;  and  the  Evangelization  of  Asia, 
or,  as  we  would  say,  Asia  Minor,  (19  :l-20 :1),  preach- 
ing in  Ephesus.  The  book  describes  his  activities,  but 
refers  only  in  passing  to  his  teachings.     It  lays  stresS;^' 


262        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

however,  upon  the  fact  that  In  almost  every  place  the 
opposition  of  the  Jews  to  Paul's  ministry  led  to  pro- 
tests and  disturbances,  sometimes  to  riots,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  he  was  forced  out.  Naturally,  they 
regarded  him  as  the  leader  of  a  great  schism. 

When,  therefore,  he  ventured  to  visit  Jerusalem,  he 
entered  into  much  the  same  peril  as  would  have  been 
incurred  by  Luther  had  he  ventured  to  visit  Rome. 
Paul  hoped  to  bring  about  a  better  understanding.  He 
took  with  him  a  collection  which  he  had  been  gathering 
among  the  Gentiles  for  the  "poor  saints  of  Jerusalem" 
{Rom.  15  :26).  He  was  received,  however,  with  little 
enthusiasm.  The  Jerusalem  brethren  were  conserv- 
ative. They  were  still  Jews,  keeping  the  customs  of 
the  Jews,  and  obeying  the  Mosaic  law ;  only  adding  the 
beHef  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  and  holding  his 
teachings  in  reverence.  They  had  agreed  that  Paul 
should  go  to  the  Gentiles,  but  they  themselves  stayed 
in  the  old  ways.  Rumors  had  come  to  them,  from 
time  to  time,  that  Paul  had  not  been  content  to  bring 
in  the  Gentiles  without  Jewish  obedience,  but  that  he 
was  teaching  "all  the  Jews  which  are  among  the 
Gentiles  to  forsake  Moses,  saying  that  they  ought  not 
to  circumcise  their  children,  neither  to  walk  after  the 
customs."  {Acts  21:21.)  Accordingly,  they  asked 
Paul  to  put  these  disturbing  and  scandalous  rumors  to 
rest  by  showing  openly  that  he  did  not,  as  was  reported, 
set  at  naught  the  law  of  Moses. 

There  were  four  Christians,  at  that  moment,  who 
were  presenting  offerings  in  the  temple.  Paul  was 
advised  to  join  them.    He  did  so  join  them;  was  recog- 


ST.    LUKE  263 

nized  in  the  temple  by  Jews  from  Asia  Minor,  probably 
from  Ephesus,  who  seem  to  have  mistaken  one  of  his 
companions  for  Trophimus,  an  Ephesian  Gentile ;  and 
was  accused  by  these  people  of  the  grave  offense  of 
bringing  a  Greek  into  the  sacred  places  which  none  but 
a  Jew  might  enter.  A  tumult  arose,  from  the  midst  of 
which  Paul  was  rescued  with  difficulty  by  the  Roman 
soldiers  whose  business  it  was  to  keep  order  in  the 
courts  of  the  temple.  He  was  brought  to  trial  before 
the  Jewish  court.  Before  the  trial  was  ended,  a  plot 
to  assassinate  him  was  discovered,  and  he  was  trans- 
ferred by  night  to  Csesarea,  with  a  guard  of  two 
hundred  soldiers.  There  he  was  kept  for  two  years, 
thus  suddenly  falling  into  silence,  all  his  ministry  being 
abruptly  stopped.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  on  the 
occasion  of  a  change  of  governors,  fearing  lest  he 
should  be  taken  back  to  Jerusalem,  he  appealed  to 
Caesar,  and  was  sent  under  guard  to  Rome.  There  he 
arrived,  after  an  experience  of  shipwreck,  which  is 
dramatically  and  minutely  described  by  Luke,  who  was 
with  him.  The  Acts  ends  unexpectedly  with  this 
sentence :  "And  Paul  dwelt  two  whole  years  in  his  own 
hired  house,  and  received  all  that  came  unto  him, 
preaching  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  teaching  those 
things  which  concern  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with  all 
confidence,  no  man  forbidding  him."  For  further 
information  we  consult  his  letters. 


XVII 

THE  EARLIER  EPISTLES  OF  ST.  PAUL  I 

THE  epistles  of  St.  Paul  are  arranged  in  the  New 
Testament  not  in  the  order  of  time  but  in  the 
order  of  size.  They  begin  with  the  long  letters  to  the 
Romans  and  to  the  Corinthians,  and  end  with  the  short 
note  to  Philemon.  When  they  are  rearranged  accord- 
ing to  the  sequence  in  which  they  were  written,  they 
are  in  two  groups.  In  the  first  group  are  the  epistles 
to  the  Thessalonians,  Galatians,  Corinthians  and 
Romans,  being  written  during  the  period  of  St.  Paul's 
missionary  activity,  while  he  was  on  his  evangelizing 
journeys.  In  the  second  group  are  the  epistles  to  the 
Colossians,  Ephesians  and  Philemon,  to  the  Philip- 
pians,  and  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  being  written  during 
the  period  of  St.  Paul's  enforced  inactivity,  while  he 
was  held  as  a  prisoner  in  Rome. 

Of  the  epistles  of  the  first  group,  those  to  the  Thes- 
salonians, Galatians  and  Romans  were  written  from 
Corinth,  the  others  were  written  to  Corinth. 


St.  Paul  had  come  to  Corinth  after  discouraging 
experiences  in  Philippi,  and  Thessalonica,  and  Athens. 
In  Philippi  his  ministry  had  led  to  an  uprising  of  the 

264 


ST.    PAUL    I  265 

crowd  against  him  and  Silas  his  companion ;  the  magis- 
trates had  beaten  them  with  many  stripes,  and  thrust 
them  into  the  inner  prison,  and  made  their  feet  fast  in 
the  stocks;  and  though  this  violence  had  been  apol- 
ogized for,  on  finding  that  Paul  and  Silas  were  Roman 
citizens,  the  apology  had  been  accompanied  by  an 
earnest  request  that  the  missionaries  leave  the  town 
immediately.  In  Thessalonica,  after  a  stay  of  several 
y^eeks,  the  whole  city  was  set  in  an  uproar,  the  house 
where  the  missionaries  were  lodged  was  assaulted,  and 
Paul  and  Silas  were  conveyed  away  by  night  to  save 
their  lives.  In  Athens,  a  company  of  Epicurean  and 
Stoic  philosophers,  out  of  curiosity  and  a  desire  to 
hear  any  new  thing,  listened  to  Paul's  preaching  for  a 
few  minutes,  with  the  result  that  some  were  amused 
and  others  were  only  idly  interested. 

From  Athens  Paul  sent  back  Timothy  to  Thes- 
salonica to  bring  him  word  as  to  what  had  happened 
after  his  sudden  departure.  Timothy  returned  from 
this  errand  with  a  good  report,  and  brought  with  him  a 
question  to  which  the  Thessalonians  desired  an  answer. 
Thereupon  Paul  wrote  his  First  Epistle.  He  expressed 
his  joy  at  the  good  account  which  he  had  received  of 
their  faith  and  endurance. 

We  sent  Timothy,  our  brother,  and  minister  of  God, 
iand  our  fellowlabourer  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  to  estab- 
lish you,  and  to  comfort  you  concerning  your  faith :  that 
no  man  should  be  moved  by  these  afflictions:  for  your- 
selves know  that  we  are  appointed  thereunto.  For  verily, 
when  we  were  with  you,  we  told  you  before  that  we 
should  suffer  tribulation ;  even  as  it  came  to  pass,  and  ye 
}aiow.  For  this  cause,  when  I  could  no  longer  forbear,  1 


266        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

sent  to  know  your  faith,  lest  by  some  means  the  tempter 
have  tempted  you,  and  our  labour  be  in  vain.  But  now 
when  Timothy  came  from  you  unto  us,  and  brought  us 
good  tidings  of  your  faith  and  charity,  and  that  ye  have 
good  remembrance  of  us  always,  desiring  greatly  to  see 
us,  as  we  also  to  see  you ;  therefore,  brethren,  we  were 
comforted  over  you  in  all  our  affliction  and  distress  by 
your  faith ;  for  now  we  live,  if  ye  stand  fast  in  the  Lord. 
For  what  thanks  can  we  render  to  God  again  for  you, 
for  all  the  joy  wherewith  we  joy  for  your  sakes  before 
our  God;  night  and  day  praying  exceedingly  that  we 
might  see  your  face,  and  might  perfect  that  which  is 
lacking  in  your  faith  ? 

Now  God  himself  and  our  Father,  and  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  direct  our  way  unto  you.  And  the  Lord  make  you 
to  increase  and  abound  in  love  one  toward  another,  and 
toward  all  men,  even  as  we  do  toward  you:  to  the  end 
he  may  stablish  your  hearts  unblameable  in  holiness 
before  God,  even  our  Father,  at  the  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  with  all  his  saints. 

Then  he  answered  their  question  as  to  what  share  in 
the  blessings  of  the  Coming  of  the  Lord  would  belong 
to  those  who  had  died  already. 

But  I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren, 
concerning  them  which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not, 
even  as  others  which  have  no  hope.  For  if  we  believe 
that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which 
sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him.  For  this  we  say 
unto  you  by  the  word  of  the  Lord,  that  we  which  are 
alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord  shall  not 
get  before  them  which  are  asleep.  For  the  Lord  himself 
shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice 
of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God:  and  the 
dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first;  then  we  which  are  alive 
and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in  the 
clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air :  and  so  shall  we  ever 
be  with  the  Lord.  Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with 
these  words. 


ST.    PAUL    I  267 

These  details  regarding  the  end  of  the  world,  like 
the  details  in  Genesis  regarding  the  beginning,  are  of 
interest  as  showing  what  the  Jews  thought  about  the 
matters  of  which  we  are  all,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
ignorant.  They  belong  not  to  the  history  of  the 
planet,  but  to  the  history  of  ideas.  The  important 
thing,  as  St.  Paul  immediately  says,  is  that  we  shall  be 
in  a  state  of  spiritual  preparedness  for  the  coming  of 
the  Lord,  whenever  and  however  he  may  appear. 

But  of  the  times  and  the  seasons,  brethren,  ye  have  no 
need  that  I  write  unto  you.  For  yourselves  know  per- 
fectly that  the  day  of  the  Lord  so  cometh  as  a  thief  in 
the  night.  For  when  they  shall  say.  Peace  and  safety; 
then  sudden  destruction  cometh  upon  them,  as  travail 
upon  a  woman  with  child;  and  they  shall  not  escape. 
But  ye,  brethren,  are  not  in  darkness,  that  that  day 
should  overtake  you  as  a  thief.  Ye  are  all  the  children 
of  light,  and  the  children  of  the  day:  we  are  not  of  the 
night,  nor  of  darkness.  Therefore  let  us  not  sleep,  as  do 
others ;  but  let  us  watch  and  be  sober.  For  they  that 
sleep  sleep  in  the  night;  and  they  that  be  drunken  are 
drunken  in  the  night.  But  let  us,  who  are  of  the  day, 
be  sober,  putting  on  the  breastplate  of  faith  and  love; 
and  for  an  helmet,  the  hope  of  salvation.  For  God 
hath  not  appointed  us  to  wrath,  but  to  obtain  salvation 
by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us,  that,  whether 
we  wake  or  sleep,  we  should  live  together  with  him. 
Wherefore  comfort  yourselves  together,  and  edify  one 
another,  even  as  also  ye  do. 

The  effect  of  this  letter  was  such  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  write  another.  The  Thessalonians  inferred 
from  St.  Paul's  words  that  the  end  of  all  things  was 
immediately  at  hand.  He  wrote  again,  therefore,  to 
correct   this    misapprehension,    to   assure    them   that 


268        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

several  very  important  preparatory  events  must  first 
take  place,  and  to  exhort  them  to  go  back  to  their  cus- 
tomary v^ork  and  to  be  prepared  for  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment by  being  found,  whenever  it  should  dawn,  in  the 
performance  of  their  daily  duties. 

Now  we  beseech  you,  brethren,  concerning  the  coming 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  our  gathering  together 
unto  him,  that  ye  be  not  soon  shaken  in  mind,  or  be 
troubled,  neither  by  spirit,  nor  by  word,  nor  by  letter  as 
from  us,  as  that  the  day  of  Christ  is  at  hand.  Let  no 
man  deceive  you  by  any  means :  for  that  day  shall  not 
come,  except  there  first  come  a  falling  away,  and  that 
man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition;  who  op- 
poseth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God, 
or  that  is  worshipped;  so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in  the 
temple  of  God,  shewing  himself  that  he  is  God.  Remem- 
ber ye  not,  that  when  I  was  yet  with  you,  I  told  you  these 
things?  And  now  ye  know  what  withholdeth  that  he 
might  be  revealed  in  his  time.  For  the  mystery  of  iniquity 
doth  already  work :  only  he  who  now  hindreth  will  hinder, 
until  he  be  taken  out  of  the  way.  And  then  shall  that 
Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord  shall  consume  with 
the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall  destroy  with  the  bright- 
ness of  his  coming:  whose  coming  is  after  the  working 
of  Satan  with  all  power  and  signs  and  lying  wonders, 
and  with  all  deceivableness  of  unrighteousness  in  them 
that  perish;  because  they  received  not  the  love  of  the 
truth,  that  they  might  be  saved.  And  for  this  cause  God 
shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they  should  believe 
a  lie :  that  they  all  might  be  condemned  who  believed  not 
the  truth,  but  pleasure  in  unrighteousness. 

No  doubt,  the  Thessalonlans,  whom  St.  Paul  Ha3 
been  instructing,  knew  what  he  meant,  but  now,  at  this 
distance,  nobody  knows.  What  is  indicated  by  the 
Man  of  Sin,  the  Son  of  Perdition,  and  what  is  intended 


ST.    PAUL   I  269 

by  the  Mystery  of  Iniquity,  and  "that  Wicked,"  are 
details  of  an  enigma  at  which  many  ingenious  scholars 
have  guessed,  but  which  seem  to  be  beyond  solution. 
Meanwhile,  that  final  crisis  and  culmination  of  things, 
of  whose  postponement  St.  Paul  wrote,  seems  to  have 
receded  farther  and  farther  in  his  mind,  until  his 
expectation  was  to  go  to  Christ  rather  than  that  Christ 
should  come  to  him.  In  the  Second  Epistle  of  St. 
Peter  are  heard  the  voices  of  many  who  say,  ''Where 
is  the  promise  of  his  coming?  for  since  the  fathers  fell 
asleep  all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the 
beginning  of  the  creation'' ;  to  whom  the  writer  replies, 
as  St.  Paul  replied  to  the  Thessalonians  that  "the  day 
of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night,"  nobody 
knows  when,  and  that  we  ought  to  live  as  those  who 
are  ready  for  it :  ''Seeing  that  ye  look  for  such  things, 
be  diligent  that  ye  may  be  found  of  him  in  peace,  with- 
out spot,  and  blameless." 


II 


About  this  time,  disquieting  news  came  to  St.  Paul 
from  his  converts  in  Galatla.  In  spite  of  the  apparent 
settlement  accomplished  at  the  conference  in  Jerusalem, 
conservative  brethren  had  taken  it  upon  them  to  inform 
the  Galatians  that  Paul  had  no  authority  to  speak  for 
the  Christian  society,  being  neither  an  apostle  nor  a 
messenger  from  the  apostles;  and  that  Paul's  state- 
ments to  the  effect  that  Gentiles  could  become  Chris- 
tians without  first  becoming  Jews  were  false.  Paul 
wrote  at  once  to  the  Galatians  declaring  the  independ- 


270        IIOV/    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

ence  of  his  own  ministry,  and  the  independence  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

The  epistle  begins  with  two  chapters  of  autobi- 
ography, the  purpose  of  which  is  to  maintain  that  he  is 
an  apostle  "not  of  men,  neither  by  man,  but  by  Jesus 
Christ." 

When  I  was  converted,  he  says,  "when  God  called 
me  by  his  grace,''  I  sought  no  guidance  from  the 
apostles,  "I  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood,  neither 
went  I  up  to  Jerusalem  to  them  which  were  apostles 
before  me,  but  I  went  into  Arabia,  and  returned  again 
to  Damascus."  After  three  years  in  Damascus  he 
spent  a  dozen  years  in  Syria  and  Cilicia,  still  apart 
from  the  apostles.  On  the  way,  indeed,  from  one  part 
of  the  country  to  the  other,  he  stopped  in  Jerusalem; 
but  there  he  spent  only  fifteen  days,  and  saw  only  two 
of  the  Christian  leaders,  Peter  the  apostle,  and  James 
the  Lord's  brother.  It  was  fourteen  years  after  his 
conversion  before  he  met  the  apostolic  company  in 
Jerusalem;  and  then,  he  says,  they  "added  nothing  to 
me,"  they  gave  me  no  new  instruction  nor  new 
authority. 

Of  those  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat,  (whatsoever 
they  were,  it  maketh  no  matter  to  me :  God  accepteth  no 
man's  person:)  for  they  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat  in 
conference  added  nothing  to  me :  but  contrariwise,  when 
they  saw  that  the  gospel  of  the  uncircumcision  was  com- 
mitted unto  me,  as  the  gospel  of  the  circumcision  was 
unto  Peter;  for  he  that  wrought  effectually  in  Peter  to 
the  apostleship  of  the  circumcision,  the  same  was  mighty 
in  me  toward  the  Gentiles:) — when  James,  Cephas,  and 
John,  who  seemed  to  be  pillars,  perceived  the  grace  that 


ST.    PAUL   I  271 

was  given  unto  me,  they  gave  to  me  and  Barnabas  the 
right  hands  of  fellowship;  that  we  should  go  unto  the 
heathen,  and  they  unto  circumcision.  Only  they  desired 
that  we  should  remember  the  poor;  the  same  which  I 
also  was  forward  to  do. 


After  this  claim  to  a  ministry  which  is  derived  not 
from  apostolic  orders  but  from  direct  revelation,  St. 
Paul  attacked  the  Jewish  monopoly  of  grace. 

The  Jewish  Church  maintained  a  monopoly  of  grace. 
The  law  of  Moses  must  be  kept  in  order  to  be  saved : 
so  his  Galatian  converts  had  been  told.  They  must  be 
circumcised,  they  must  observe  prescribed  days  of 
devotion,  they  must  eat  only  certain  permitted  food. 
That  is,  they  must  be  good  Jews  in  order  to  be  received 
as  Christians.  The  only  entrance  into  the  Christian 
Society  was  by  the  Jewish  door.  This,  St.  Paul 
stoutly  denied.  These  details  of  religion  he  called 
"beggarly  elements."  The  obedience  to  these  things 
he  called  bondage.  Salvation,  he  said,  is  by  faith,  not 
by  the  works  of  the  law. 

Stand  fast  therefore  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ 
hath  made  us  free,  and  be  not  entangled  again  with  the 
yoke  of  bondage. 

Behold,  I  Paul  say  unto  you,  that  if  ye  be  circumcised, 
Christ  shall  profit  you  nothing.  For  I  testify  again  to 
every  man  that  is  circumcised,  that  he  is  a  debtor  to  do 
the  whole  law.  Christ  is  become  of  no  effect  unto  you, 
whosoever  of  you  are  justified  by  the  law;  ye  are  fallen 
from  grace.  For  we  through  the  Spirit  wait  for  the  hope 
of  righteousness  by  faith.  For  in  Jesus  Christ  neither 
circumcision  availeth  any  thing,  nor  uncircumcision ;  but 
faith  worketh  by  love. 


272        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 


III 


This  subject  he  took  up  again,  at  length  and  more 
formally,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  He  had  come  to 
the  end  of  his  missionary  labors  in  Corinth,  and  was 
looking  forward  to  a  new  mission  in  Italy  and  in  Spain. 
He  must  go  first  on  an  errand  to  Jerusalem,  hoping 
then  to  start  out  for  the  west.  In  preparation  for  his 
preaching  in  Rome,  he  wrote  to  the  Romans.  The 
theme  of  the  epistle  is  the  Way  of  Salvation.  Paul 
states  again  the  proposition  that  salvation  is  not  neces- 
sarily or  exclusively  by  the  Jewish  Church,  whose 
method  is  the  keeping  of  the  law,  but  also  and  chiefly 
by  the  independent  Christian  Church,  whose  method  is 
by  faith. 

The  epistle  begins  with  two  propositions :  first,  that 
the  Gentiles  are  all  sinners;  second,  that  the  Jews  are 
all  sinners.  Both  Jews  and  Gentiles  are  all  under  sin. 
All,  then,  are  in  need  of  salvation.  This  is  the  argu- 
ment of  the  first  three  chapters.  It  leads  to  the  state- 
ment that  salvation  is  to  be  had  not  by  works  but  by 
faith;  in  support  of  which  the  fourth  chapter  cites  the 
case  of  Abraham,  justified  by  faith  before  "the  law" 
existed. 

'  The  four  chapters  which  follow,  from  the  fifth  to 
the  eighth,  contain  the  heart  of  the  epistle.  Here  is 
set  forth  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith. 

These  chapters  are  hard  to  read  because  the  reason- 
ing of  the  writer  is  according  to  the  intellectual  proc- 
esses of  his  own  time.   This  is  the  way  in  which  they 


ST.    PAUL   I  273 

argued  in  the  schools  of  Jerusalem.  This  is  the  manner 
in  which  they  brought  to  their  argument  the  testimony 
of  the  ancient  scriptures.  Take,  for  example,  in  Galch 
Hans,  the  allegory  of  Sarah  and  Hagar. 

It  is  written,  that  Abraham  had  two  sons,  the  one  b^ 
a  bondmaid,  the  other  by  a  freewoman.  But  he  who  was 
of  the  bondwoman  was  born  after  the  flesh;  but  he  of 
the  freewoman  was  by  promise.  Which  things  are  an 
allegory;  for  these  women  are  the  two  covenants;  the 
one  from  the  mount  Sinai,  which  gendereth  to  bondage, 
which  is  Hagar.  For  this  Hagar  is  mount  Sinai  in 
Arabia,  and  answereth  to  Jerusalem  which  now  is,  and 
is  in  bondage  with  her  children.  But  Jerusalem  which  is 
above  is  free,  which  is  the  mother  of  us  all. 

And,  in  Romans,  the  inference  drawn  from  the  sin 
of  Adam;  though  here  the  theological  system-makers 
of  a  later  day  erected  on  the  uncertain  foundation  of 
incidental  texts  portentous  doctrines  of  original  sin  and 
total  depravity,  for  which  St.  Paul  should  not  be  held 
responsible. 

Another  difficulty  which  was  felt  from  the  beginning 
is  in  the  fact  that  St.  Paul's  theology  was  so  largely  a 
matter  not  of  reasoning  but  of  personal  experience. 
Into  this  opposition  between  faith  and  works  he  had 
entered  through  a  spiritual  crisis.  He  had  tried  hard 
to  attain  salvation  by  the  method  of  rules  and  regula- 
tions, and  had  been  disappointed.  The  bitterness  of 
that  experience,  and  the  sense  of  his  w^eakness  in  con- 
tending against  sin  with  no  other  help  than  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  law  appear  in  the  disclosure  which  he  makes 
of  his  own  soul. 


274        HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

We  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual:  but  I  am  carnal, 
sold  under  sin.  For  that  which  I  allow  not:  for  what  I 
would,  that  do  I  not ;  but  what  I  hate,  that  do  I.  If  then 
I  do  that  which  I  would  not,  I  consent  unto  the  law  that 
it  is  good.  Now  then  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin 
that  dwelleth  in  me.  For  I  know  that  in  me  (that  is,  in 
my  flesh,)  dwelleth  no  good  thing:  for  to  will  is  present 
with  me;  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is  good  I  find 
not.  For  the  good  that  I  would  I  do  not:  but  the  evil 
which  I  would  not,  that  I  do.  Now  if  I  do  that  I  would 
not,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me. 
I  find  then  a  law,  that,  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is 
present  with  me.  For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after 
the  inward  man ;  but  I  see  another  law  in  my  members, 
warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me 
into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  members. 
O  wretched  man  that  I  am!  who  shall  deliver  me  from 
the  body  of  this  death  ?  I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord.  So  then  with  the  mind  I  myself  serve  the  law 
of  God ;  but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin. 

The  intensity  of  this  consciousness  of  the  strength  of 
sin  and  of  the  inability  of  the  law  to  help  is  equaled  by 
ihe  intensity  of  his  joy  and  confidence. 

What  shall  we  then  say  to  these  things?  If  God  be 
for  us,  who  can  be  against  us?  He  that  spared  not  his 
own  Son,  but  delivereth  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he 
not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things?  Who  shall 
lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect?  It  is  God 
that  justifieth.  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ 
that  died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at 
the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for 
us.  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  shall 
tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or 
nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword  ?  As  it  is  written,  "For  thy 
sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day  long ;  We  are  accounted  as 
sheep  for  the  slaughter."  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are 
more  than  conquerors  through  him  that  loved  us.  For  I 
am  persuaded,  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 


•     ^  ST.    PAUL   I  275 

principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things 
to  come,  nor  height,  nor  death,  nor  any  other  creature, 
shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which 
is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

Into  the  emotions  thus  expressed  the  saints  in  all 
ages  have  devoutly  entered.  But  the  saints  are  always 
in  minority.  To  a  majority  of  readers,  especially  to 
such  as  are  not  by  temperament  emotional  or  intense, 
these  profound  depths  and  sublime  heights  seem 
beyond  their  reach.  Especially  the  fervor  of  St.  Paul's 
opposition  to  the  idea  of  salvation  by  the  \vorks  of  the 
law  fails  to  meet  an  equivalent  response.  The  Jewish 
law,  indeed,  gradually  ceased  to  be  a  demand  upon  the 
Christian  conscience,  but  a  Christian  law  took  its  place. 
In  spite  of  all  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul,  most  people 
shaped  their  conduct  by  the  word  of  Jesus,  "If  thou 
wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments."  Indeed, 
this  word  balances  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 
even  in  Galatians  and  Romans,  \vhere  Paul  illustrates 
and  enforces  it  by  a  great  number  of  commandments; 
whereby  he  declares,  in  the  face,  as  he  says,  of  mis- 
representation, that  faith  and  works  somehow  go 
together  after  all. 

What  champion  of  salvation  by  good  w^orks  could 
deal  more  practically  and  convincingly  with  the  ethical 
side  of  religion  than  does  St.  Paul  in  chapter  after 
chapter  at  the  close  of  his  epistles,  where  he  follows  his 
doctrinal  discussion  with  moral  application  ? 

For  I  say,  through  the  grace  given  unto  me,  to  eveiy 
man  that  is  among  you,  not  to  think  of  himself  more 
highly  than  he  ought  to  think ;  but  to  think  soberly,  ac- 


276        HOW   TO   KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

cording  as  God  hath  dealt  to  every  man  the  measure  of 
faith.  For  as  we  have  many  members  in  one  body,  and 
all  members  have  not  the  same  office :  so  we,  being  many, 
are  one  body  in  Christ,  and  every  one  members  one  of 
another.  Having  then  gifts  differing  according  to  the 
grace  that  is  given  to  us,  whether  prophecy,  let  us  proph- 
esy according  to  the  proportion  of  faith :  or  ministry,  let 
us  wait  on  our  ministering :  or  he  that  teacheth,  on  teach- 
ing :  or  he  that  exhorteth,  on  exhortation :  he  that  giveth, 
let  him  do  it  with  simplicity:  he  that  ruleth,  with  dili- 
gence; he  that  sheweth  mercy,  with  cheerfulness.  Let 
love  be  without  dissimulation.  Abhor  that  which  is  evil; 
cleave  to  that  which  is  good.  Be  kindly  affectioned  one 
to  another  with  brotherly  love ;  in  honour  preferring  one 
another;  not  slothful  in  business;  fervent  in  spirit;  serv- 
ing the  Lord;  rejoicing  in  hope;  patient  in  tribulation; 
continuing  instant  in  prayer ;  distributing  to  the  necessity 
of  saints ;  given  to  hospitality.  Bless  them  that  persecute 
you :  bless,  and  curse  not.  Rejoice  with  them  that  do  re- 
joice, and  weep  with  them  that  weep.  Be  of  the  same 
mind  one  toward  another.  Mind  not  high  things,  but  con- 
descend to  men  of  low  estate.  "Be  not  wise  in  your  own 
conceits."  Recompense  to  no  man  evil  for  evil.  "Provide 
things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men."  If  it  be  possible, 
as  much  as  lieth  in  you,  live  peaceably  with  all  men. 
Dearly  beloved,  avenge  not  yourselves,  but  rather  give 
place  unto  wrath :  for  it  is  written,  "Vengeance  is  mine ; 
I  will  repay,"  saith  the  Lord.  Therefore  "If  thine  enemy 
hunger,  feed  him;  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink:  for  in  so 
doing  thou  shalt  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head."  Be  not 
overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good. 

The  real  diffiiculty  is  in  the  definition  of  faith.  It  is 
related  to  works  as  a  principle  is  related  to  an  observ- 
ance. The  principle  is  a  general  proposition  to  which 
we  assent;  the  observance  is  an  application  of  the 
principle  which  is  made  and  imposed  upon  us  by  some- 
body else.     Thus  we  agree  to  the  principle  that  one 


ST.    PAUL   I  277 

day  in  the  week  should  be  holy  to  the  Lord;  but  we 
disagree  with  a  hundred  arbitrary  interpretations  of 
that  principle  which  have  been  embodied  in  the  laws  of 
Jews  and  of  Puritans.  We  hold  that  our  salvation,  in 
this  respect,  is  to  keep  the  day  holy,  not  to  obey  a  long 
list  of  petty  rules  about  it. 

Faith  is  related  to  works  as  the  motive  is  related  to 
the  action.  The  motive  interprets  the  action,  and  gives 
it  value.  Works  may  be  done  for  the  gaining  of 
popular  applause :  in  which  case,  as  Jesus  said,  they 
have  that  reward,  and  no  other.  That  is  all  that  they 
are  worth.  Or  they  may  be  done  not  for  love  of  God, 
nor  for  love  of  our  neighbor,  but  as  investments  for 
the  benefit  of  our  souls  in  a  future  state;  in  which  case 
those  who  have  thus  performed  them  shall  find  them- 
selves in  the  case  of  the  men  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  who  say,  "Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  preached  in 
thy  name,  and  in  thy  name  have  cast  out  devils,  and 
in  thy  name  have  done  many  wonderful  works?"  To 
whom  the  Lord  says,  *T  never  knew  you." 

Faith  is  related  to  works  as  the  service  of  a  son  is 
related  to  the  service  of  a  slave.  One  has  the  quality 
of  affection,  the  other  of  compulsion.  One  serves 
because  he  desires  to  serve,  without  conditions  or 
limits,  looking  for  new  opportunities ;  the  other  serves 
because  he  must,  consulting  his  list  of  orders  and 
watching  the  clock. 

Faith  is  related  to  works  as  the  beatitudes  are  related 
to  the  commandments.  The  beatitudes  are  ideals, 
whose  attainment  is  the  desire  of  our  soul,  the  com; 
mandments  are  regulations,  appointed   for  us.     The 


278        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

difference  is  like  that  between  a  life  which  is  good,  for 
fear  of  consequences  if  it  is  evil,  and  a  life  which  is 
good  for  love  of  God;  between  those  who  may  safely 
be  trusted  so  long  as  they  are  directed  and  watched, 
and  those  who  may  safely  be  trusted  because  nobody 
else  can  possibly  be  so  desirous  to  have  them  do  right 
as  they  are  to  do  right  themselves. 

After  the  central  chapters  (5-8)  in  which  St.  Paul 
maintains  that  we  are  saved  by  faith  and  not  by  works, 
he  discusses  the  problem  of  acceptance  and  rejection 
which  is  involved  in  the  realization  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  in  the  Christian  Church  rather  than  in  the 
Jewish  Church  (9-11).  Then  follow  practical  coun- 
sels (12-15).  And  the  epistle  ends  with  a  chapter 
which  is  thought  by  some  to  have  been  written  not  to 
the  Romans  but  to  the  Ephesians.  It  contains  a  list  of 
persons  to  whom  the  writer  sends  messages;  an  ex- 
traordinarily long  list  considering  the  fact  that  he  has 
never  been  in  Rome.  And  some  of  the  names,  as 
Prlscilla  and  Aquila,  are  associated  in  other  places  with 
Ephesus.  The  chapter  commends  a  deaconess,  Phebe, 
to  the  good  will  and  hospitality  of  the  church,  wherever 
it  is.  The  sentence,  "I,  Tertius,  who  wrote  his  Epistle, 
salute  you,"  gives  us  the  name  of  the  brother  to  whom, 
as  his  secretary,  St.  Paul  dictated  this  letter. 


XVIII 

THE  EARLIER  EPISTLES  OF  ST.  PAUL  II 

/i  FTER  a  year  and  a  half  in  Corinth,  St.  Paul  went 
,/x.  to  Ephesus,  where  he  remained  for  two  years  and 
three  months.  The  sea  made  communication  easy 
between  Ephesus  and  Corinth,  and  the  apostle  kept  in 
touch  with  his  Corinthian  converts.  He  appears  to 
have  visited  them  several  times,  and  several  times  he 
wrote  them  letters,  of  which  two  have  survived. 

Another  letter,  which  preceded  these,  but  is  lost,  is 
referred  to  in  such  a  manner  as  to  let  us  know  what  it 
was  about.  He  warned  them  against  bad  company. 
He  told  them  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  covetous 
persons,  or  idolaters,  or  fornicators,  or  railers,  or 
extortioners,  or  drunkards.  They  replied  that  in 
order  to  obey  such  a  counsel  of  exclusion  they  must 
give  up  both  society  and  business.  They  reminded  him 
that  Corinth  was  inhabited  mostly  by  such  sinners. 
Would  he  require  them  to  go  out  of  the  world? 
Answering  them  in  the  progress  of  his  First  Epistle 
(/.  Cor.  5  :9-ll),  he  mitigated  the  rigor  of  his  former 
advice  and  allowed  them  to  consort,  if  necessary,  with 
pagan  sinners;  but  he  drew  the  line  at  Christian 
sinners.  They  were  not  even  to  eat,  he  said,  with 
Christian  extortioners,  or  with  Christian  drunkards. 
The  letter  makes  it  plain  that  even  after  a  year  and  a 

279 


280        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

half  of  cultivation  at  the  hands  of  Paul  himself,  there 
were  still  tares  in  the  Corinthian  field. 


Then  two  things  happened:  friends  came,  notably 
from  the  house  of  Chloe,  bringing  various  reports  from 
Corinth;  and  a  letter  came  asking  various  questions. 
The  First  Epistle  deals  in  part  (1-6)  with  these  re- 
ports and  in  part  (7-16)  with  these  questions. 

It  was  reported,  in  the  first  place,  (1-4)  that  there 
were  divisions  among  the  Corinthian  disciples.  Some 
said  "I  am  of  Paul ;"  others,  'T  am  of  Apollos;"  others, 
"I  am  of  Cephas;"  and  still  others,  about  whom  we  do 
not  know  enough  to  warrant  either  praise  or  blame, 
"I  am  of  Christ."  There  seems  to  have  been  no  dis- 
agreement as  to  the  fundamentals;  the  debates  con- 
cerned inferences,  details  and  additions.  Apollos,  a 
young  man  from  Alexandria,  who  had  succeeded  Paul 
in  Corinth,  seems  to  have  taught  some  things  which 
Paul  had  not  taught.  Thereupon  arose  a  Paul  party, 
holding  to  the  old  ways,  and  an  Apollos  party,  pre- 
ferring the  new  ways.  The  like  has  happened  in  many 
a  parish.  And  then,  as  now,  those  who  liked  what 
St.  Paul  calls  "milk,"  and  those  who  liked  what  he  calls 
"meat,"  were  not  content  to  enjoy  each  his  own  prefer- 
ence, and  to  have  the  parochial  table  spread  with  both 
meat  and  milk,  but  insisted  on  criticizing  and  reviling 
the  preference  of  the  other.  "There  is  only  one 
foundation,"  St.  Paul  says ;  "I  have  laid  that.  I  deter- 
mined not  to  know  anything  among  you  save  Jesus 


ST.    PAUL   II  281 

Christ  and  him  crucified.  But  on  this  foundation 
there  may  be  various  buildings,  for  various  uses,  and  in 
various  kinds  of  architecture.  It  is  not  necessary  that 
you  should  all  live  in  one  room.  Let  men  build  as 
they  will  and  see  what  structures  stand  the  test." 
(3:9-15.)  St.  Paul  is  opposing  the  divisive  policy  of 
"either-or."  His  plan  is  in  essentials  unity,  but  in 
non-essentials  liberty.  He  would  have  difference  with- 
out division. 

It  was  reported  as  a  matter  of  common  scandal  in 
the  Corinthian  congregation  that  one  of  the  brethren 
had  married  his  step-mother.  The  apostle  deals  with 
this  offender  briefly  and  peremptorily,  advising  that  at 
the  next  meeting  of  the  parish  to  consider  cases  of 
discipline  he  be  put  out. 

It  was  reported  that  Christians  were  going  to  law 
against  Christians,  and  carrying  their  disputes  before 
the  pagan  courts  (6:1-8).  "Why  do  ye  not  rather 
take  wrong?"  Paul  says,  "Why  do  ye  not  rather  suffer 
yourselves  to  be  defrauded?" 

Then  the  epistle  passes  to  the  questions.  First,  con- 
cerning marriage.  Paul  advises  against  it.  (Ch.  7.) 
This  is  not,  however,  for  any  ascetic  reason,  but  as  a 
matter  of  expediency.  He  writes  as  an  unmarried 
man,  who  is  abundantly  satisfied  with  his  single  state. 
In  other  places  in  the  letter  he  makes  it  plain  that  he 
regards  women  from  the  oriental  point  of  view,  as 
creatures  inferior  to  men.  At  the  same  time,  it  is 
interesting  to  notice  that  it  is  in  this  chapter,  which 
contributes  so  little  to  our  present  life,  that  the  apostle 
frankly  admits  the  possibility  that  he  may  be  mistaken. 


282        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

He  perceives  in  his  mind  differing  degrees  of  confir 
dence.  "I  speak  this,"  he  says,  *'by  permission,  and 
not  of  commandment."  "As  to  the  rest,"  he  says,j 
referring  to  what  he  is  about  to  advise,  "speak  I,  not 
the  Lord."  And  again,  of  another  matter,  "I  have  no 
commandment  of  the  Lord,  yet  I  give  my  judgment." 
And  still  again,  "After  my  judgment,  and  I  think  also 
that  I  have  the  Spirit  of  God." 

Then,  concerning  food  offered  to  idols  (8-10).  [The 
religion  of  the  pagan  world  touched  life  at  every  point. 
The  rites  of  sacrifice  carried  the  benediction  of  the 
altar  to  the  domestic  table.  Part  of  the  meat  belonged 
to  the  god,  part  to  the  priest,  the  rest  to  the  worshiper. 
On  every  occasion  of  festivity  the  guests  partook  of 
meat  which  had  been  thus  blessed,  having  been  offered 
to  an  idol.  By  the  act  of  giving  a  portion  in  sacrifice, 
the  god  was  invited  to  the  dinner,  and  accepted  the 
invitation,  and  sat  with  them  out  of  sight.  On  such  an 
occasion  a  Christian  guest  might  say,  "I  know  that  an 
idol  is  nothing,  the  sacrificial  aspects  of  this  feast  are 
of  no  concern  to  me;"  and  he  might  therefore  eat 
freely  of  the  idol  meat.  "But  suppose,"  said  the  Co- 
rinthians, "that  some  Christian  guest  should  not  be  of 
this  opinion.  To  his  conscience  the  partaking  of  this 
meat  is  sin.  The  effect  of  the  example  of  the  wise 
brother  will  be  either  to  scandalize  the  weak  brother, 
or  to  tempt  him  to  do  that  which  he  believes  to  be 
wrong.  What  then  ?  Shall  the  wise  forego  the  liberty 
of  his  wisdom  because  of  the  weak?"  St.  Paul  says, 
"Yes.  There  is  something  better  than  knowledge,  and 
better  even  than  the  exercise  of  liberty,  and  that  is 


ST.    PAUL    II  283 

brotherly  love.  If  meat  make  my  brother  to  offend, 
I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world  standeth.  Free- 
dom," he  says  further,  "is  a  splendid  privilege,  but 
there  is  something  else  to  be  taken  into  account,  and 
that  is  expediency.  All  things  are  lawful  for  me,  but 
all  things  are  not  expedient."  And  having  thus  dealt 
with  a  small,  local  question  in  so  great  a  way  that  his 
method  becomes  an  everlasting  and  universal  principle, 
he  concludes  the  discussion  with  the  great  saying, 
"Whether,  therefore,  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye 
do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God." 

From  this  he  turns  to  the  next  question  which  the 
Corinthians  have  brought  to  his  decision :  Shall  women 
in  church  have  their  heads  covered,  or  uncovered? 
One  of  his  reasons  for  the  covered  head,  "because  of 
the  angels,"  is  of  uncertain  meaning.  If  the  reference 
is  to  good  angels,  it  may  mean  that  they  wish  to  see 
all  things  done  decently  and  in  order;  if  the  reference 
is  to  bad  angels,  it  seems  to  be  connected  with  an 
obscure  superstition.  Another  reason,  with  which  he 
concludes  the  matter, — because  "we  have  no  such  cus- 
tom, neither  the  churches  of  God," — seems  to  base  a 
decision  upon  the  principle  of  general  conformity. 
"Do  not  be  queer,"  he  says  to  the  Corinthian  sisters. 
"Do  not  make  yourselves  conspicuous.  Follow  the 
common  fashion."  In  the  main,  however,  St.  Paul 
makes  it  clear  that  the  covered  head  means  the  infe- 
riority of  women  to  men.  "A  man  ought  not  to  cover 
his  head,  forasmuch  as  he  is  the  image  and  glory  of 
God :  but  the  woman  is  the  glory  of  the  man."  (Here 
the  modem  woman,  and  also  the  modern  man,  inserts 


284        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

an  exclamation  point.)  "For  this  cause,"  i.  e,  as  a 
mark  of  this  inferiority,  "the  women  ought  to  have 
power  on  her  head."  Instead  of  "power,"  the  Revised 
Version  reads  "a  sign  of  authority,"  a  sign  to  show 
that  the  woman  is  under  the  authority  of  the  man.  If 
all  of  St.  Paul's  instructions  had  been  as  generally  and 
faithfully  followed  as  this,  we  should  be  living  in  a 
better  world. 

In  the  discussion  which  follows,  touching  the  Lord's 
Supper  (11:17-34),  the  "spiritual  gifts"  (12:13)  and 
the  "tongues,"  (14)  the  letter  gives  some  curious  in- 
formation as  to  the  religious  services  of  the  primitive 
church.  They  seem  to  have  been  of  two  kinds:  a 
liturgy  of  Christ,  centering  about  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, and  a  liturgy  of  the  Spirit,  in  which  the  people 
spoke  with  "tongues."  St.  Paul  criticizes  the  conduct 
of  both  of  these  services  as  grievously  lacking  in  quiet- 
ness and  sobriety. 

As  for  the  Lord's  Supper,  it  is  hardly  more  than  an 
incident  in  the  course  of  a  common  meal.  The  people 
come  in,  perhaps  bringing  their  own  food  with  them, 
and  sit  down  at  once,  without  waiting  for  their  neigh- 
bors, and  proceed  to  eat  as  if  that  were  the  only  pur- 
pose of  their  meeting.  The  scene  is  one  of  scandalous 
disorder.  "In  eating,  every  one  taketh  before  others 
his  own  supper,  and  one  is  hungry,  and  another  is 
drunken."  In  the  confusion  some  get  hardly  anything 
to  eat,  and  others  get  altogether  too  much  to  drink. 
The  apostle  has  to  remind  them  of  the  conditions  under 
which  the  Supper  was  instituted,  and  to  warn  them 
that  in  thus  partaking  of  it  they  are  committing  a  grave 


ST.    PAUL    II  285 

offense.  "He  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily, 
eateth  and  drinketh  damnation"  (or,  as  the  Revised 
Version  says,  "condemnation")  "to  himself,  not  dis- 
cerning the  Lord's  body."  They  are  to  discern  the 
Lord's  body;  i.  e.  they  are  to  make  a  difference  (for 
that  is  what  the  word  means),  between  this  bread  and 
other  bread,  and  between  this  sacred  feast  and  other 
feasts.  The  contrast  between  the  confusion  of  the 
Corinthian  table  and  the  solemnity  of  the  high  altar  is 
remarkable. 

This  confusion  is  worse  confounded  in  the  babel  of 
the  "unknown  tongues."  The  history  of  religious 
revivals  has  interpreted  this  speech  as  an  incoherent 
utterance,  expressive  not  of  any  definite  ideas  but  of 
emotions  otherwise  inexpressible.  An  overpowering 
sense  of  rapture,  a  joy  too  great  for  laughter  or  a  peni- 
tential grief  too  deep  for  tears,  cries  out  in  these 
sounds.  St.  Paul,  who  could  say,  "I  thank  God  I 
speak  with  tongues  more  than  you  all,"  said  also,  "If 
the  whole  church  be  come  together  into  one  place,  and 
all  speak  with  tongues,  and  there  come  in  those  who 
are  unlearned  and  ignorant,  or  unbelievers,  will  they 
not  say  that  ye  be  mad?"  The  voices  of  the  Christian 
congregation  engaged  in  this  spiritual  exercise  sounded 
like  a  chorus  in  the  violent  ward  of  a  hospital  for  the 
insane.  Concerning  this  confusion  St.  Paul  speaks 
with  that  controlling  sanity  and  common  sense  which 
no  tongues  or  visions  ever  interrupted.  "I  would 
rather  speak  five  words,"  he  says,  "w^ith  my  under- 
standing, that  by  my  voice  I  might  teach  others  also, 
than  ten  thousand  words  in  an  unknown  tongue."     So 


286        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

with  the  other  contributions  which  the  faithful  bring 
to  the  conduct  of  the  meeting.  "When  ye  come  to- 
gether every  one  of  you  hath  a  psalm,  hath  a  doctrine, 
hath  a  tongue,  hath  a  revelation,  hath  an  interpreta- 
tion. Let  all  things  be  done  unto  edifying." 

Even  so,  the  apostle  does  not  venture  to  suggest  such 
a  radical  change  as  to  require  that  no  more  than  one  of 
the  brethren  shall  address  the  meeting  at  the  same 
time.  He  would  have  only  two  preaching  or  praying  or 
shouting  at  once,  or  at  the  most  three!  "H  any  man 
speak  in  an  unknown  tongue,  let  it  be  by  two,  or  at 
the  most  by  three,  and  let  one  interpret.  But  if  there 
be  no  interpreter,  let  him  keep  silence  in  the  church; 
and  let  him  speak  to  himself  and  to  God.  Let  the 
prophets  speak  two  or  three,  and  let  the  other  judge. 
If  anything  be  revealed  to  another  that  sitteth  by,  let 
the  first  hold  his  peace.  For  ye  may  all  prophesy  (or, 
as  we  say,  preach)  one  by  one,  that  all  may  learn,  and 
all  may  be  comforted.  And  the  spirits  of  the  prophets 
are  subject  to  the  prophets.  For  God  is  not  the  author 
of  confusion,  but  of  peace,  as  in  all  the  churches  of  the 
saints." 

With  one  element  in  this  enthusiastic  disorder,  Paul 
deals  sharply.  The  question  of  the  Corinthians  as  to 
the  head-covering  of  the  women  had  referred  particu- 
larly, and  perhaps  exclusively,  to  the  women  who 
prayed  and  preached  in  the  congregation  (11:5). 
Paul  silences  the  women.  "Let  your  women  keep 
silence  in  the  churches ;  for  it  is  not  permitted  to  them 
to  speak,  but  they  are  commanded  to  be  under  obedi- 
ence, as  also  saith  the  law.     And  if  they  will  learn  any- 


ST.    PAUL   II  287 

thing,  let  tHem  ask  their  husbands  at  home ;  for  it  is  a 
shame  for  women  to  speak  in  the  church." 

In  the  midst  of  these  details,  the  value  of  which  is 
mainly  in  the  curious  information  which  they  give  us 
as  to  the  religious  services  of  the  parish  of  Corinth, 
suddenly  the  letter  rises  to  a  great  spiritual  height. 
These  things  are  all  very  well,  St.  Paul  says,  tongues 
and  prophecies,  and  the  various  offices  of  apostles,  and 
teachers,  and  healers  and  helpers,  and  the  like;  but 
one  thing  is  essential.  "Covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts ; 
and  yet  I  show  you  a  more  excellent  way."  Then 
follows  the  exaltation  of  charity. 

Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels, 
and  have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  or 
a  tinkling  cymbal.  And  though  I  have  the  gift  of  proph- 
ecy, and  understand  all  mysteries,  and  all  knowledge; 
and  though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove  moun- 
tains, and  have  not  charity,  I  am  nothing.  And  though  I 
bestow  all  my  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  though  I  give 
my  body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth 
me  nothing.  Charity  suffereth  long,  and  is  kind ;  charity 
envieth  not ;  charity  vaunteth  not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up, 
doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,  seeketh  not  her  own,  is 
not  easily  provoked,  thinketh  no  evil;  rejoiceth  not  in 
iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth;  beareth  all  things,  be- 
lieveth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  endureth  all  things. 
Charity  never  f  aileth :  but  whether  there  be  prophecies, 
they  shall  fail ;  whether  there  be  tongues,  they  shall  cease ; 
whether  there  be  knowledge,  it  shall  vanish  away.  For 
we  know  in  part,  and  we  prophesy  in  part.  But  when  that 
which  is  perfect  is  come,  then  that  which  is  in  part  shall 
be  done  away.  When  I  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I 
understood  as  a  child,  I  thought  as  a  child:  but  when  I 
became  a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things.  For  now  we 
see  through  a  glass,  darkly ;  but  then  face  to  face :  now  I 
know  in  part;  but  then  shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am 


288        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

known.    And   now   abideth    faith,   hope,   charity,   these 
three ;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  charity. 

The  letter  contains  another  chapter,  equally  famous, 
in  which  the  apostle  discusses  the  resurrection  of  the 
body.  The  present  body  is  buried,  he  says,  and  comes 
up  no  more  out  of  the  earth,  like  the  seed.  The  "body 
that  shall  be"  is  other  than  that.  The  body  of  the 
resurrection  is  a  spiritual  body ;  by  which  is  meant,  not 
a  body  made  of  spirit,  like  a  ghost,  but  a  body  adapted 
to  the  conditions  of  the  life  to  come,  the  spiritual  life, 
whatever  the  unknown  conditions  may  be.  To  St. 
Paul  one  of  the  supreme  satisfactions  of  death  was 
that  it  was  an  escape  from  the  body  of  this  flesh.  But 
his  idea  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  was  very  dif- 
ferent from  the  conception  of  the  merging  of  the  soul 
into  the  Over  Soul,  the  taking  of  the  spirit  of  the  indi- 
vidual into  the  Spirit  of  the  Universe,  "as  the  drop  falls 
into  the  crystal  sea.'*  His  doctrine  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  body  was  a  belief  in  the  continuance  of  indi- 
vidual identity  after  death.  That  is  what  he  under- 
stood to  be  both  illustrated  and  assured  by  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ.  Thus  he  repHes  to  those  among  the 
Corinthians  who  were  saying  that  there  is  no  resur- 
rection of  the  dead. 

Now  if  Christ  be  preached  that  he  rose  from  the 
dead,  how  say  some  among  you  that  there  is  no  resur- 
rection of  the  dead?  But  if  there  be  no  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  then  is  Christ  not  risen :  and  if  Christ  be  not 
risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also 
vain.  Yea,  and  we  are  found  false  witnesses  of  God; 
because  we  have  testified  of  God  that  he  raised  up  Christ: 


ST.    PAUL   II  289 

whom  he  raised  not  up,  if  so  be  that  the  dead  rise  not. 
For  if  the  dead  rise  not,  then  is  not  Christ  raised:  and  if 
Christ  be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain;  ye  are  yet  in 
your  sins.  Then  they  also  which  are  fallen  asleep  in 
Christ  are  perished.  If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in 
Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable. 

But  now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become  the 
firstfruits  of  them  that  slept.  For  since  by  man  came 
death,  by  man  also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  For  as 
in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive. 
But  every  man  in  his  own  order:  Christ  the  firstfruits; 
afterward  they  that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming.  Then 
Cometh  the  end,  when  he  shall  have  delivered  up  the 
kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father;  when  he  shall  have 
put  down  all  rule  and  all  authority  and  power.  For  he 
must  reign,  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet. 
The  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is  death.  For  he 
hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet.  But  when  he  saith,  all 
things  are  put  under  him,  it  is  manifest  that  he  is  ex- 
cepted, which  did  put  all  things  under  him.  And  when 
all  things  shall  be  subdued  unto  him,  then  shall  the  Son 
also  himself  be  subject  unto  him  that  put  all  things  under 
him,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all. 

Else  what  shall  they  do  which  are  baptized  for  the 
dead,  if  the  dead  rise  not  at  all  ?  why  are  they  then  bap- 
tized for  the  dead  ?  and  why  stand  we  in  jeopardy  every 
hour?  I  protest  by  your  rejoicing  which  I  have  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord,  I  die  daily.  If  after  the  manner  of  men 
I  have  fought  with  beasts  at  Ephesus,  what  advantageth 
it  me,  if  the  dead  rise  not  ?  let  us  eat  and  drink ;  for  to- 
morrow we  die.  Be  not  deceived :  evil  communications 
corrupt  good  manners.  Awake  to  righteousness,  and  sin 
not ;  for  some  have  not  the  knowledge  of  God :  I  speak  to 
your  shame. 

But  some  will  say,  How  are  the  dead  raised  up?  and 
with  what  body  do  they  come?  Thou  fool,  that  which 
thou  sowest  is  not  quickened,  except  it  die:  and  that 
which  thou  sowest,  thou  sowest  not  that  body  that  shall 
be,  but  bare  grain,  it  may  chance  of  wheat,  or  of  some 
other  grain :  but  God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased 


290        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

him,  and  to  every  seed  his  own  body.  All  flesh  is  not  the 
same  flesh :  but  there  is  one  flesh  of  men,  another  flesh  of 
beasts,  another  of  fishes,  another  of  birds.  There  are 
also  celestial  bodies,  and  bodies  terrestrial :  but  the  glory 
of  the  celestial  is  one,  and  the  glory  of  the  terrestrial  is 
another.  There  is  one  glory  of  the  sun,  and  another  glory 
of  the  moon,  and  another  glory  of  the  stars :  for  one  star 
dififereth  from  another  star  in  glory.  So  also  is  the  res- 
urrection of  the  dead.  It  is  sown  in  corruption ;  it  is 
raised  in  incorruption.  It  is  sown  in  dishonour ;  it  is  raised 
in  glory.  It  is  sown  in  weakness;  it  is  raised  in  power. 
It  is  sown  a  natural  body;  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body. 
There  is  a  natural  body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body. 
And  so  it  is  written,  "The  first  man  Adam  was  made  a 
living  soul;  The  last  Adam  a  quickening  spirit."  How- 
beit  that  was  not  first  which  is  spiritual,  but  that  which 
is  natural :  and  afterward  that  which  is  spiritual.  The 
first  man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy:  the  second  man  is 
the  Lord  from  heaven.  As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they 
also  that  are  earthy:  and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are 
they  also  that  are  heavenly.  And  as  we  have  borne  the 
image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of  the 
heavenly. 

Now  this  I  say,  brethren,  that  flesh  and  blood  cannot 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God;  neither  doth  corruption 
inherit  incorruption.  Behold,  I  shew  you  a  mystery; 
We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed,  in 
a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump : 
for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised 
incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be  changed.  For  this  cor- 
ruptible must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  put 
on  immortality.  So  when  this  corruptible  shall  have  put 
on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  im- 
mortality, then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that 
is  written,  "Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory.  O  death, 
where  is  thy  sting?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?" 
The  sting  of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the 
law.  But  thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Therefore  my  beloved 
brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  unmoveable,  always  abounding 


ST.    PAUL    II  291 

in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  your 
labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

It  is  characteristic  of  St.  Paul  that  these  high  say- 
ings are  followed  immediately  by  a  reminder  of  the 
collection !  It  is  like  the  place  in  the  gospel,  where  the 
Master  having  healed  the  ruler's  little  daughter  says 
quietly  in  the  midst  of  the  tense  emotion  of  the  house- 
hold, "Give  her  something  to  eat."  ''Now  concerning 
the  collection  for  the  saints,  as  I  have  given  order  to 
the  churches  of  Galatia,  even  so  do  ye.  Upon  the  first 
day  of  the  w^eek  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in 
store,  as  God  hath  prospered  him,  that  there  be  no 
gatherings  when  I  come.  And  when  I  come,  whom- 
soever ye  shall  approve  by  letters,  them  will  I  send  to 
bring  your  Hberality  unto  Jerusalem." 


n 


Between  the  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians  and  the 
second  a  year  may  have  passed.  For  the  Second 
Epistle  was  written  after  the  tumult  at  Ephesus,  in 
consequence  of  which  Paul  left  the  city,  barely  escap- 
ing wnth  his  life.  To  this  he  refers  at  the  beginning 
of  the  letter.  "We  would  not,  brethren,  that  ye  should 
be  ignorant  of  our  trouble  w^hich  came  to  us  in  Asia, 
that  we  were  pressed  out  of  measure,  above  strength, 
insomuch  that  w^e  despaired  even  of  life."  In  the  in- 
terval between  the  first  letter  and  the  second,  Paul  had 
visited  Corinth  several  times.  "This,"  he  says  near  the 
end  of  the  second  letter,  "is  the  third  time  I  am  coming 
to  you."     He  had  also  written  at  least  one  letter.     But 


292        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

his  last  visit  had  been  a  painful  visit  (2:1),  and  his 
letter  had  been  a  painful  letter. 

A  misunderstanding  had  arisen  between  St.  Paul  and 
his  Corinthian  converts  by  reason  of  the  mischief- 
making  of  certain  persons, — and  of  one  man  in  par- 
ticular,— in  consequence  of  which  the  apostle  had  been 
contradicted,  defied  and  insulted.  He  had  not  visited 
the  parish  again,  fearing  to  make  a  bad  matter  worse. 

Instead,  he  had  written  a  letter.  *T  determined  this 
with  myself,"  he  says,  "that  I  would  not  come  to  you 
again  in  heaviness;  and  I  wrote  this  same  unto  you, 
lest,  when  I  came,  I  should  have  sorrow  from  them  of 
whom  I  ought  to  rejoice.  I  wrote  that  I  might  know 
the  proof  of  you,  whether  ye  be  obedient  in  all  things." 
But  then,  having  this  written,  he  was  again  filled  with 
anxiety,  doubting  how  they  would  take  it.  Accord- 
ingly, he  sent  Timothy  to  go  to  Corinth,  and  bring  him 
word  again.  Before  the  messenger  could  return,  the 
tumult  in  the  defense  of  the  goddess  Diana  had  driven 
Paul  from  Ephesus.  He  went  to  Troas,  hoping  to  find 
Timothy  there.  Missing  him,  he  went  thence  to  Mace- 
donia. (2:12,  13.)  There  he  found  him,  bringing  a 
good  report.  The  Corinthians  had  returned  to  their  al- 
legiance, and  had  imposed  upon  the  ring-leader  a  pun- 
ishment **which  was  inflicted  of  many."  Thereupon, 
from  somewhere  in  Macedonia,  Paul  wrote  this  Second 
Epistle. 

The  first  part  (1-9)  is  full  of  rejoicing;  the  second 
part  (10-13)  is  so  full  of  rebuke  and  condemnation 
that  some  scholars  have  found  in  it  the  painful  letter 
which  otherwise  is  lost.     Perhaps  so,  though  it  hardly 


ST.   PAUL   II  293 

fulfills  the  description,  "out  of  much  affliction  and  an- 
guish of  heart  I  wrote  unto  you  with  many  tears." 
There  is  much  less  of  grief  than  of  indignation  in  these 
chapters.  Paul  seems  to  turn  from  his  faithful  follow- 
ers to  the  makers  of  the  mischief,  who  are  disposed  to 
do  more  mischief  still.  He  advises  the  forgiveness  of 
the  chief  offender  lest  he  be  "swallowed  up  with  over- 
much sorrow,"  but  regarding  the  general  company  of 
trouble-makers  he  expresses  his  strong,  indignant  opin- 
ion. 

They  had  appeared  in  Corinth,  it  appears,  with  let- 
ters of  commendation;  perhaps,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Galatian  churches,  from  Jerusalem.  They  had  called 
themselves  apostles.  They  had  boasted  of  their  good 
birth  and  of  their  good  works.  It  is  with  them  in  mind 
that  Paul  calls  to  remembrance  his  own  labors  and 
sufferings. 

Are  they  Hebrews?  so  am  I.  Are  they  Israelites?  so 
am  I.  Are  they  the  seed  of  Abraham?  so  am  I.  Are  they 
ministers  of  Christ?  (I  speak  as  a  fool)  I  am  more;  in 
labours  more  abundant,  in  stripes  above  measure,  in 
prisons  more  frequent,  in  deaths  oft.  Of  the  Jews  five 
times  received  I  forty  stripes  save  one.  Thrice  was  I 
beaten  with  rods,  once  was  I  stoned,  thrice  I  suffered 
shipwreck,  a  night  and  a  day  I  have  been  in  the  deep ;  in 
journcyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  rob- 
bers, in  perils  of  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the 
heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness, 
in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren.  In 
weariness  and  painfulness,  in  watchings  often,  in  hunger 
and  thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness.  Be- 
side those  things  that  are  without,  that  which  cometh 
upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all  the  Churches. 


294        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

The  men  who  had  set  the  Corinthians  against  Paul 
had  attacked  his  character.  It  is  against  them  that  he 
is  defending  himself  when  he  says  that  he  and  his  com- 
panions approve  themselves  as  ministers  of  God  by 
honor  and  dishonor,  by  evil  report  and  good  report :  *'as 
deceivers,"  so  they  say,  "and  yet  true;  as  unknown, 
and  yet  well  known ;  as  dying,  and  behold  we  live ;  as 
chastened,  and  not  killed;  as  sorrowful,  yet  always  re- 
joicing ;  as  poor,  yet  making  many  rich ;  as  having  noth- 
ing, and  yet  possessing  all  things."  In  each  of  these 
alternatives  the  first  term  is  probably  a  reflection  of 
the  criticisms  of  the  "false  brethren." 

They  remarked  upon  his  personal  appearance,  and 
upon  his  defects  as  a  preacher.  "His  letters,"  they  said, 
"are  weighty  and  powerful;  but  his  bodily  presence  is 
weak,  and  his  speech  contemptible"  (10:10).  They 
inferred  from  his  visions  that  he  was  unbalanced  in  his 
mind.  They  even  went  so  far  as  to  suggest  that  he 
was  making  a  "collection  for  the  saints"  with  the  pur- 
pose of  using  the  money,  or  some  of  it,  for  the  relief 
of  such  saints  as  Titus  and  himself.  Paul  has  to  say 
"I  seek  not  yours,  but  you"  (12:14).  "I  will  very 
gladly  spend  and  be  spent  for  you,"  he  says,  "though 
the  more  abundantly  I  love  you,  the  less  I  be  loved." 
"Did  I  make  a  gain  of  you?"  he  asks,  "Did  Titus  make 
a  gain  of  you?" 

Many  a  minister,  subjected  to  the  criticisms  of  his 
congregation,  has  found  a  store  of  comfort  in  this  hard 
experience.  He  has  said  to  himself,  "They  criticize  me, 
but  so  did  they  criticize  St.  Paul.  Even  St.  Paul  did 
not  please  everybody  in  the  parish." 


ST.    PAUL   II  295 

The  hostile  Corinthians  attacked  St.  Paul's  doctrine. 
"I  fear,"  he  says,  "lest  by  any  means,  as  the  serpent 
beguiled  Eve  through  his  subtilty,  so  your  minds  should 
be  corrupted  from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ.  For 
if  he  that  cometh  preacheth  another  Jesus  whom  we 
have  not  preached,  or  if  ye  receive  another  spirit  which 
ye  have  not  received,  or  another  gospel  which  ye  have 
not  accepted,  ye  might  well  bear  with  him."  The  refer- 
ence is  obscure,  but  if  the  hostile  teachers  came  from 
Jerusalem,  and  preached  the  sort  of  doctrine  with 
which  they  had  troubled  the  Galatians,  they  probably 
declared  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  of  the  Jews,  and 
not,  as  Paul  preached,  the  Savior  of  the  world.  They 
sought  to  limit  the  great  freedom  of  his  Christian  hos- 
pitality. 

Against  this  he  warns  the  faithful,  but  with  confi- 
dence and  in  brotherly  love,  "writing,"  as  he  says  again, 
"lest  being  present  I  should  use  sharpness."  "Finally, 
brethren,"  he  says,  "farewell.  Be  perfect,  be  of  good 
comfort,  live  in  peace;  and  the  God  of  peace  and  love 
shall  be  with  you." 


XIX 

THE  LATER  EPISTLES  OF  ST.  PAUL 

WRITING  from  Corinth  to  the  Christians  in 
Rome,  St.  Paul  told  them  that  he  was  expect- 
ing to  make  them  a  visit.  "Having  now  no  more 
place  in  these  parts,"  he  says,  "and  having  a  great 
desire  these  many  years  to  come  unto  you,  whenso- 
ever I  take  my  journey  into  Spain  I  will  come  to 
you.  But  first  I  must  go  to  Jerusalem  to  minister 
unto  the  saints.  For  it  hath  pleased  them  of  Mace- 
donia and  Achaia  to  make  a  certain  contribution  for 
the  poor  saints  which  are  at  Jerusalem.  When  I 
have  performed  this,  and  have  sealed  them  this  fruit, 
I  will  come  by  you  into  Spain."  He  anticipates, 
however,  that  trouble  and  hindrance  may  attend  the 
performance  of  this  kindly  mission,  and  he  asks  the  as- 
sistance of  their  prayers.  "I  beseech  you,  brethren, 
that  ye  strive  together  with  me  in  your  prayers  to  God 
for  me,  that  I  may  be  delivered  from  them  which  do 
not  believe  in  Judea,  and  that  my  service  which  I  have 
for  Jerusalem  may  be  accepted  of  the  saints,  that  I  may 
come  unto  you  with  joy  by  the  will  of  God,  and  may 
with  you  be  refreshed." 

This  foreboding  of  evil  was  fully  warranted  by  the 
events  which  followed. 

296 


THE    LATER    EPISTLES  297 

The  foreign  missionary  returned  from  his  successful 
labors,  from  evangelizations  which  have  affected  the 
whole  course  of  subsequent  history,  to  a  community 
which  was  in  part  indifferent,  and  in  part  actively  hos- 
tile to  foreign  missions.  The  Jews  of  Jerusalem,  in 
whose  eyes  Paul  was  a  rebel  and  the  leader  of  a  revo- 
lution, were  bitterly  opposed  to  his  hospitality  to  the 
Gentiles ;  and  many  of  the  Christians  of  that  city,  being 
Christians  and  Jews  at  the  same  time,  agreed  with 
them.  No  record  remains  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
collection  was  received,  whereby  Paul  had  hoped  to 
bring  about  a  better  feeling  of  the  Jews  for  the  Gen- 
tiles. His  fraternal  purpose  seems  to  have  accom- 
plished nothing.  On  the  contrary  he  was  met  with 
rather  formal  courtesy,  and  was  immediately  made  to 
understand  that  he  was  under  grave  suspicion.  "Thou 
seest,  brother,"  they  said,  "how  many  thousands  of  the 
Jews  there  are  which  believe,  and  they  are  all  jealous 
of  the  law,  and  they  are  informed  of  thee  that  thou 
teachest  all  the  Jews  which  are  among  the  Gentiles  to 
forsake  Moses,  saying  that  they  ought  not  to  circumcise 
their  children,  neither  to  walk  after  the  customs.  What 
is  it  therefore  ?  the  multitude  must  needs  come  together, 
for  they  hear  that  thou  art  come.  Do  therefore  this 
which  we  say  unto  thee.'*  They  then  proposed  that 
Paul  should  associate  with  several  brethren  who  were 
both  Jews  and  Christians,  and  who  were  thus  purpos- 
ing to  keep  one  of  the  customs  by  making  an  offering 
in  the  temple. 

This  he  did,  and  being  recognized  by  Jews  from 


298        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Ephesus, — in  which  place  the  enmity  against  Paul  had 
been  so  fierce  that  he  told  the  Corinthians  that  he  had 
fought  with  wild  beasts  there, — a  tumult  was  raised, 
and  Paul  was  with  difficulty  rescued  from  the  mob  by 
the  Roman  guard.  The  soldiers  succeeded  in  getting 
him  a  chance  to  speak,  and  the  crowd  listened  to  his 
account  of  himself  until  he  quoted  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
who  said,  *T  will  send  thee  far  hence  to  the  Gentiles." 
"They  gave  him  audience  unto  this  word,  and  then 
lifted  up  their  voices,  and  said,  *Away  with  such  a  fel- 
low from  the  earth,  for  it  is  not  fit  that  he  should  live.' 
And  they  cried  out,  and  cast  off  their  clothes,  and  threw 
dust  into  the  air."  x 

With  this  curious  scene  the  missionary  activity  of 
Paul  came  to  an  abrupt  end.  He  was  brought  to  trial 
before  the  council  of  the  Jews,  but  the  hearing  of  the 
case  was  interrupted  by  the  discovery  of  a  plot  of  more 
than  forty  men  who  bound  themselves  under  a  great 
curse  that  they  would  neither  eat  nor  drink  till  they  had 
killed  him.  Thereupon  the  Roman  authorities  sent  the 
prisoner  with  an  armed  escort  to  Csesarea,  where  he 
lay  for  two  years.  Then,  when  a  new  governor  pro- 
posed to  send  him  back  to  Jerusalem  for  further  trial, 
he  availed  himself  of  his  right  as  a  Roman  citizen  and 
appealed  to  Caesar.  This  appeal  carried  him — ^very 
differently  from  his  hopes  and  expectations — to  Rome. 

In  Rome,  waiting  for  his  appeal  to  be  heard  and 
decided,  he  wrote  letters:  three  to  people  in  Asia 
Minor,  one  to  the  Philippians,  and  three  to  men  who 
had  been  his  fellow-workers. 


THE    LATER    EPISTLES  299 


Philemon,  Colossians  and  Ephesians  were  written  at 
the  same  time,  and  to  people  who  lived  in  the  same 
neighborhood  in  Asia  Minor.  In  both  Colossians  and 
Ephesians,  Tychicus  is  mentioned  as  the  bearer.  "That 
ye  may  know  my  affairs,  and  how  I  do,  Tychicus,  a 
beloved  brother  and  faithful  minister  in  the  Lord,  shall 
make  known  to  you  all  things  "  {Eph.  6 :21,  22) .  "All 
my  state  shall  Tychicus  declare  unto  you,  who  is  a  be- 
loved brother,  and  a  faithful  minister  in  the  Lord" 
{Col.  4:7).  In  both  Colossians  and  Philemon  mention 
is  made  of  Onesimus,  a  runaway  slave  of  Philemon, 
who  is  described  to  the  Colossians  as  "a  faithful  and 
beloved  brother,  who  is  one  of  you." 

The  note  to  Philemon  shows  the  attitude  of  Paul  to- 
ward the  institution  of  slavery.  Onesimus,  a  slave  be- 
longing to  Philemon,  had  escaped  and  sought  a  hiding 
place  in  Rome.  There  he  had  come  to  the  knowledge, 
and  under  the  influence,  of  Paul,  who  had  received  him 
into  the  Christian  society.  According  to  all  the  princi- 
ples of  Paul's  religion,  slavery  was  a  hideous  thing.  It 
contradicted  the  liberty,  the  equality  and  the  fraternity 
which  he  perpetually  preached.  Yet  he  sent  Onesimus 
back  into  his  old  bondage.  He  did  indeed  suggest  to 
Philemon  that  he  should  receive  him  "not  now  as  a 
servant,  but  above  a  servant,  a  brother  beloved."  And, 
no  doubt,  the  state  of  Onesimus  under  these  conditions 
was  a  great  improvement  not  only  over  other  slaves  but 
even  over  many  freemen.    Still,  he  remained  a  slave. 


300        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

He  was  the  property  of  Philemon.  We  look  in  vain  for 
any  direction  to  Philemon  to  set  Onesimus  free. 

This  may  be  because  slavery  seemed  to  St.  Paul,  on 
the  whole,  a  beneficent  institution.  It  was  plainly  better 
than  the  preceding  custom  of  killing  all  the  prisoners  of 
war.  Or  it  may  be  that  slavery  was  so  integral  a  part 
of  the  contemporary  life  that  it  seemed  to  belong  to  the 
course  of  nature.  It  was  like  famine  and  pestilence, 
of  which  people  complained  bitterly  but  which  they 
endured  because  the  world  appeared  to  be  made  that 
way.  Or  it  may  be  that  St.  Paul  felt  that  one  war  was 
enough  at  a  time.  He  was  fighting  a  great  fight  for 
religious  liberty,  and  the  contention  for  social  and  in- 
dustrial liberty  must  wait.  It  is  manifestly  in  vain  that 
anybody  attempts  to  reform  the  whole  world  in  all 
points  at  one  time.  Anyhow,  confronting  the  evil  of 
slavery,  as  we  confront  the  evil  of  war,  his  policy  was 
to  mitigate  it  rather  than  to  attack  it. 

Philemon  lived  in  Colosse,  a  village  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Laodicea,  not  far  from  Ephesus.  Epaphras, 
the  minister  of  the  parish  there,  perhaps  the  founder 
of  it,  visiting  St.  Paul  in  Rome,  had  given  him  infor- 
mation as  to  the  progress  of  the  Christian  religion  in 
those  parts.  In  consequence  of  this  account,  which  rep- 
resented the  situation  as  mostly  good  but  partly  bad, 
Paul  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Colossians,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  longer  letter  which  is  inscribed  in  our  version 
to  the  Ephesians. 

These  two  epistles  are  related  the  one  to  the  other  as 
Galatians  is  related  to  Romans.  In  each  case  the 
shorter  epistle  deals  with  local  conditions  to  which  the 


THE    LATER    EPISTLES  301 

apostle  addresses  himself  directly  in  a  personal  letter; 
while  the  longer  epistle  deals  with  the  subject  in  gen- 
eral, with  very  little  personal  reference,  the  discussion 
taking  the  form  of  a  treatise. 

Among  these  people  had  arisen  a  heresy  which  after- 
ward, in  its  developed  form,  was  called  Gnosticism. 
The  word  gnosis  (knowledge)  was  used  in  this  con- 
nection to  indicate  the  difference  between  the  intelligent 
and  the  unintelligent,  or  rather  between  the  initiated 
and  the  uninitiated.  In  the  Colossian  parish  a  group  of 
Christians,  students  of  a  current  philosophy,  were  prid- 
ing themselves  upon  a  knowledge  of  God  and  of  the 
world  in  which  their  simpler  brethren  could  not  share. 
One  thing  which  they  knew  was  that  matter  is  essen- 
tially evil.  Thus  they  solved  the  problem  of  the  origin 
of  sin :  sin  comes  from  the  material  body  in  which,  un- 
happily, we  live.  Another  thing  wdiich  they  knew  was 
that  God  is  infinitely  remote,  and  that  between  him 
and  us  are  celestial  beings, — angels,  aeons,  emanations, 
— ^by  one  of  w^hom,  not  by  God  himself,  this  material 
world  and  all  things  material  in  it  wxre  made. 

These  doctrines  had  definite  practical  results.  The 
idea  that  God  is  infinitely  remote  led  to  the  assertion 
that  Christ  is  one  of  the  angels  or  aeons  who  intervene 
between  us  and  him.  And  the  idea  that  matter  is  es- 
sentially evil,  besides  encouraging  an  asceticism  which 
brought  the  soul  into  hostility  to  the  whole  of  the  bodily 
life,  maintained  that  the  incarnation  was  either  a  tem- 
porary arrangement  or  an  illusion.  Either  the  aeon 
Christ  entered  into  the  man  Jesus  at  his  baptism  and 
departed  from  him  before  his  crucifixion,  or  else  the 


302        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

whole  bodily  life  of  Christ  was  not  real  but  only  appar- 
ent. How  could  he  have  had  a  body,  which  by  the 
theory  is  wholly  evil  ?    He  only  seemed  to  have  a  body. 

With  this  heresy,  Paul  deals  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians. 

As  for  the  notion  that  the  world  was  made  by  an 
angel  who  was  so  remote  from  God  as  to  be  more  bad 
than  good,  Paul  maintains  not  only  that  the  one  mani- 
festation of  the  invisible  God  is  Jesus  Christ,  but  that 
by  him  were  all  things  created:  "who  is  the  image  of 
the  invisible  God,  the  first-born  of  every  creature ;  for 
by  him  were  all  things  created,  that  are  in  heaven  and 
that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be 
thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers ;  all 
things  were  created  by  him  and  for  him."  {Col.  1:15, 
16).  A  similar  list  appears  in  Ephesians.  Christ,  he 
says,  is  set  at  the  right  hand  of  God  in  the  heavenly 
places,  "far  above  all  principality  and  power  and  might 
and  dominion  and  every  name  that  is  named  not  only 
in  this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come"  (Eph. 
1 :20,  21).  The  reference  appears  to  be  to  the  Gnostic 
titles  of  their  hierarchy  of  celestial  beings.  St.  Paul 
does  not  stop  to  debate  whether  they  exist  or  not.  Over 
them  all,  he  says,  is  Christ. 

As  for  the  theory  that  evil  may  be  escaped  by  de- 
pressing or  distressing  the  body,  denying  all  the  natural 
appetites,  the  apostle  maintains  that  there  is  no  me- 
chanical way  of  being  saved.  The  salvation  of  the 
soul  is  not  by  any  Jewish  observances:  "let  no  man 
therefore  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect 


THE    LATER   EPISTLES  303 

of  an  holy  day,  or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  sabbath 
days,  which  are  but  a  shadow  of  things  to  come,  but 
the  body  is  of  Christ."  The  salvation  of  the  soul  is  not 
by  any  ascetic  practises:  "if  ye  be  dead  with  Christ 
from  the  rudiments  of  the  world,  why,  as  though  living 
in  the  world,  are  ye  subject  to  ordinances, — touch  not, 
taste  not,  handle  not, — after  the  commandments  and 
doctrines  of  men;  which  things  have  indeed  a  show  of 
wisdom,  in  will  worship,  and  humility  and  neglecting 
of  the  body;  not  in  any  honor  to  the  satisfying  of  the 
flesh." 

The  theme  of  the  epistle  is  the  Exaltation  of  Christ, 
who  is  both  the  maker  of  the  world,  and  the  head  of 
the  church,  the  redeemer  of  mankind.  This  is  expanded 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians. 

At  the  end  of  Colossians,  St.  Paul  mentions  a  letter 
which  they  are  to  receive  from  him  by  way  of  Laodicea. 
"When  this  epistle  is  read  among  you,  cause  that  it  be 
read  also  in  the  church  of  the  Laodiceans ;  and  that  ye 
likewise  read  the  epistle  from  Laodicea."  This  refer- 
ence, together  with  the  curious  fact  that  Ephesiaris  con- 
tains no  messages  to  friends  in  Ephesus,  suggests  that 
what  we  have  here  is  a  circular  letter,  meant  for  the 
churches  of  that  neighborhood  in  turn.  Let  the  Laodi- 
ceans send  it  to  the  Colossians,  and  the  Colossians  to 
the  parish  at  Hierapolis,  and  thence  to  the  Ephesians. 

The  supremacy  of  Christ,  which  is  asserted  in  Colos- 
siatts  mainly  in  reference  to  the  world,  of  which  he  is 
the  maker,  is  here  asserted  mainly  in  reference  to  the 
church,  of  which  he  is  the  head.    To  the  doctrine  of 


304        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

Romans,  that  justification  is  by  faith  in  Christ,  is  added 
in  Ephesians  the  doctrine  that  salvation  is  by  union 
with  Christ  in  the  church. 

Thus  Christ  is  not  only  "far  above  all  principality 
and  power"  but  is  "the  head  over  all  things  to  the 
church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth 
all  in  all.'*  Ye  "are  built,"  he  says,  "upon  the  founda- 
tion of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself 
being  the  chief  cornerstone;  in  whom  all  the  building, 
fitly  framed  together,  groweth  unto  an  holy  temple  in 
the  Lord,  in  whom  also  ye  are  builded  together  for  an 
habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit."  A  characteris- 
tic passage  is  at  the  end  of  the  third  chapter. 

I  bow  my  knees  unto  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth 
is  named,  that  he  would  grant  you,  according  to  the 
riches  of  his  glory,  to  be  strengthened  with  might  by  his 
spirit  in  the  inner  man;  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your 
hearts  by  faith ;  that  ye,  being  rooted  and  grounded  in 
love,  may  be  able  to  comprehend  with  all  saints  what  is 
the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and  height:  and  to 
know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge,  that 
ye  might  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God. 

Now  unto  him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly 
^bove  all  that  we  ask  or  think,  according  to  the  power 
that  worketh  in  us, — unto  him  be  glory  in  the  Church  by 
Christ  Jesus  throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end. 
Amen. 

And  again,  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  chapter,  where  a 
consideration  of  the  duties  of  wives  to  their  husbands 
passes  into  the  idea  of  the  relationship  between  Christ 
and  the  church. 


THE   LATER   EPISTLES  305 

Wives,  submit  yourselves  unto  your  own  husbands, 
as  unto  the  Lord,  for  the  husband  is  the  head  of  the 
wife,  even  as  Christ  is  the  Head  of  the  Church:  and 
he  is  the  Saviour  of  the  body;  therefore  as  the  Church 
is  subject  unto  Christ,  so  let  the  wives  be  to  their  own 
husbands  in  every  thing.  Husbands,  love  your  wives, 
even  as  Christ  also  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  himself 
for  it:  that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the 
washing  of  water  by  the  Word,  that  he  might  present 
it  to  himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing;  but  that  it  should  be  holy 
and  without  blemish.  So  ought  men  to  love  their  wives 
as  their  own  bodies.  He  that  loveth  his  wife  loveth  him- 
self. For  no  man  ever  yet  hated  his  own  flesh ;  but  nour- 
isheth  and  cherisheth  it,  even  as  the  Lord  the  Church: 
for  we  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his 
bones.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and 
mother,  and  shall  be  joined  unto  his  wife,  and  they  two 
shall  be  one  flesh.  This  is  a  great  mystery:  but  I  speak 
concerning  Christ  and  the  Church. 

II 

To  Paul  in  Rome,  as  before  in  Thessalonica,  a  gift 
of  money  was  sent  by  the  Philippians;  but  the  messen- 
ger, Epaphroditus,  w'hom  the  apostle  calls  "my  brother, 
and  fellow-worker  and  fellow-soldier,"  had  fallen  sick. 
Being  now  recovered,  and  returning  home,  St.  Paul 
entrusts  him  with  an  Epistle  to  the  Philippians.  It  is  a 
friendly,  affectionate,  appreciative  letter,  having  no 
other  purpose  than  to  thank  these  faithful  friends  for 
their  remembrance  of  him,  and  to  tell  them  how  he  is. 
Its  interest  for  us  is  in  its  references  to  the  experience 
through  which  the  writer  is  passing,  and  in  its  dis- 
closure of  his  spirit. 

He  is  unfailingly  optimistic. 


306        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

I  would  ye  should  understand,  brethren,  that  the 
things  which  have  happened  unto  me  have  fallen  out 
rather  unto  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel;  so  that  my 
bonds  in  Christ  are  manifest  in  all  the  palace,  and  in 
all  other  places;  and  many  of  the  brethren  in  the  Lord, 
waxing  confident  by  my  bonds,  are  much  more  bold  to 
speak  the  Word  without  fear. 

Some  indeed  preach  Christ  even  of  envy  and  strife; 
and  some  also  of  good  will.  The  one  preach  Christ  of 
contention,  not  sincerely,  supposing  to  add  affliction  to 
my  bonds :  but  the  other  of  love,  knowing  that  I  am  set 
for  the  defence  of  the  Gospel.  What  then  ?  notwithstand- 
ing, every  way,  whether  in  pretence,  or  in  truth,  Christ 
is  preached;  and  I  therein  do  rejoice,  yea,  and  will  re- 
joice. For  I  know  that  this  shall  turn  to  my  salvation 
through  your  prayer,  and  the  supply  of  the  Spirit  of 
Jesus  Christ,  according  to  my  earnest  expectation  and  my 
hope,  that  in  nothing  I  shall  be  ashamed,  but  that  with  all 
boldness,  as  always,  so  now  also  Christ  shall  be  magni- 
fied in  my  body,  whether  it  be  by  life,  or  by  death. 

For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.  But 
if  I  live  in  the  flesh,  this  is  the  fruit  of  my  labour:  yet 
what  I  shall  choose  I  wot  not.  For  I  am  in  a  strait 
betwixt  two,  having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with 
Christ;  which  is  far  better:  nevertheless  to  abide  in  the 
flesh  is  more  needful  for  you.  And  having  this  con- 
fidence, I  know  that  I  shall  abide  and  continue  with  you 
all  for  your  furtherance  and  joy  of  faith;  that  your 
rejoicing  may  be  more  abundant  in  Jesus  Christ  for  me 
by  my  coming  to  you  again. 

His  face  is  toward  the  future. 

If  any  other  man  thinketh  that  he  hath  whereof  he 
might  trust  in  the  flesh,  I  more :  circumcised  the  eighth 
day,  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  an 
Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews ;  as  touching  the  law,  a  Pharisee ; 
concerning  zeal,  persecuting  the  Church;  touching  the 
righteousness  which  is  in  the  law,  blameless. 


THE    LATER    EPISTLES  307 

But  what  things  were  gain  to  me,  those  I  counted  loss 
for  Christ.  Yea  doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things  but  loss 
for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my 
Lord :  for  whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things, 
and  do  count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may  win  Christ  and 
be  found  in  him,  not  having  mine  own  righteousness, 
which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith 
of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith ; 
that  I  may  know  him,  and  the  power  of  his  resurrection, 
and  the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings,  being  made  conform- 
able unto  his  death ;  if  by  any  means  I  might  attain  unto 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  Not  as  though  I  had  al- 
ready attained,  either  were  already  perfect :  but  I  follow 
after,  if  that  I  may  apprehend  that  for  which  also  I  am 
apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus.  Brethren,  I  count  not 
myself  to  have  apprehended :  but  this  one  thing  I  do, 
forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching 
forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before,  I  press  toward 
the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus. 

He  can  do  all  things  by  the  help  of  Christ. 

I  have  learned,  in  whatsoever  state  I  am,  therewith  to 
be  content.  I  know  both  how  to  be  abased,  and  I  know 
how  to  abound :  every  where  and  in  all  things  I  am  in- 
structed both  to  be  full  and  to  be  hungry,  both  to  abound 
and  suffer  need.  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  who 
strengtheneth  me. 

Ill 


The  three  remaining  letters,  the  "pastoral  epistles,'* 
are  addressed  to  Timothy  and  Titus. 

They  refer  to  events  in  the  life  of  St.  Paul  about 
which  we  have  no  other  information.  His  appeal  to 
Caesar  seems  to  have  been  decided  in  his  favor,  though 
he  was  again  arrested  and  finally  condemned.     "At 


308        now    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

my  first  answer,"  he  says,  apparently  referring  to  a 
first  trial,  "no  man  stood  with  me,  but  all  men  forsook 
me.  I  pray  God  that  it  may  not  be  laid  to  their  charge. 
Notwithstanding  the  Lord  stood  with  me,  and  strength- 
ened me,  that  by  me  the  preaching  might  be  fully 
known,  and  that  all  the  Gentiles  might  hear ;  and  I  was 
delivered  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  lion."  Being  thus 
delivered,  he  spent  some  time  in  Crete,  where  he  left 
Titus  in  charge ;  and  some  time  at  Ephesus,  where  he 
established  Timothy,  going  thence  to  Macedonia.  These 
journeys  perplex  scholars,  and  make  many  of  them 
doubtful  of  the  Pauline  authorship  of  these  epistles. 

Further  difficulties  are  raised  by  references  to  ec- 
clesiastical and  theological  conditions  which  seem  to 
be  too  organized  and  settled  for  the  lifetime  of  St.  Paul. 
There  are  bishops  and  deacons  with  their  responsibil- 
ities rather  distinctly  defined.  And  faith  which  has  be- 
fore been  synonymous  with  loyalty  seems  now  to  be 
synonymous  with  orthodoxy.  The  epistles  speak  of 
the  faith,  embodied  in  a  "form  of  sound  words." 

There  is  general  agreement,  however,  in  ascribing  to 
St.  Paul  himself  the  words  in  the  Second  Epistle  to 
Timothy  which  contain  his  farewell  message,  the  sum- 
mary of  his  hfe  and  of  his  hope. 

I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my 
departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I 
have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith.  Hence- 
forth there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness, 
which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at 
that  day :  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that 
love  his  appearing. 


XX 

THE  FIVE  SERMONS 

THE  epistles  of  St.  Paul  are  followed  by  five  pieces 
of  writing  which  are  more  or  less  in  epistolary 
form,  but  rather  less  than  more.  These  are  Hebrews, 
James,  First  and  Second  Peter,  and  then,  after  the 
Johannine  letters,  Jude.  They  are  like  sermons. 

The  authorship  of  each  of  these  pieces  is  doubtful, 
and  in  each  case  the  doubts  go  back,  far  behind  all  mod- 
ern criticism,  to  the  fathers  of  the  church.  At  the  same 
time,  in  no  case  is  the  value  of  the  book  dependent  on 
the  author.  Each  stands  on  its  own  merits,  and  is  no 
more  affected  by  any  decision  as  to  the  name  which 
properly  belongs  at  the  top  of  the  page  than  Hamlet  is 
affected  by  the  debate  between  the  Shakespeareans  and 
the  Baconians. 

I 

We  begin  with  James,  because  some  scholars  give  to 
this  writing  a  very  early  date,  before  Paul.  The  James 
thus  intended  was  one  of  the  Lord's  brothers, — one  of 
the  four  brothers  {Mk.  6:3)  of  whom  the  others  were 
named  Joseph  and  Judas  and  Simon.  He  had  not  been 
a  disciple  during  the  ministry  of  Jesus.  His  brethren, 
we  are  told,  {In,  7:5)  did  not  believe  on  him.  The 
resurrection,  however,  brought  him  into  the  company 

309 


310        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

of  the  faithful  (Acts  1 :14),  and  after  a  while  he  be- 
came the  leader  of  the  Jerusalem  Christians.  Thus  it 
was  James  who  pronounced  the  decision  of  the  confer- 
ence at  Jerusalem  (Acts  15  :13),  over  which  he  seems 
to  have  presided. 

If  James  wrote  this  epistle  he  maintained  a  singular 
silence  regarding  his  great  relationship,  and  regarding 
not  only  his  high  place  in  Jerusalem  but  all  the  tradi- 
tion of  conservatism  and  continuance  in  the  old  Jewish 
ways  which  are  associated  with  him.  One  theory  is 
that  this  is  a  purely  Jewish  document  (excepting  2 :1) 
to  which  some  copyist  of  the  manuscript  prefixed  the 
first  verse  as  his  guess  at  the  original  writer.  The  the- 
ory serves  at  least  to  illustrate  the  proposition  that  this 
is  a  Hebrew  rather  than  a  Christian  writing.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  is  a  theory  that  this  book  though  it 
barely  mentions  the  name  of  Jesus  is  as  full  of  his 
teaching  as  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which,  in  some 
places,  it  resembles.  It  is  suggested  that  the  author  is 
quoting  sentence  after  sentence  from  words  of  Christ 
nowhere  else  recorded.  So  far  as  this  may  be  granted, 
the  epistle  represents  the  earlier  phase  of  Christian 
teaching,  before  the  gospel  of  Christ — the  truths  which 
he  taught — had  been  followed,  and  to  some  extent  su- 
perseded, by  the  gospel  about  Christ. 

In  any  case,  the  book  belongs  to  that  "literature  of 
wisdom,'*  of  which  Proverbs  is  the  most  familiar  ex- 
ample. Much  of  it  is  in  the  form  of  detached  sentences, 
each  containing  its  own  distinct  word  of  good  advice. 
Other  parts  deal  with  a  subject  about  which  such  sen- 
tences are  collected.    The  pearls  are  strung  on  a  string. 


THE    FIVE    SERMONS  311 

An  illustration  of  the  proverbial  form  is  the  famous 
definition  of  true  religion. 

If  any  man  among  you  seem  to  be  religious,  and 
bridleth  not  his  tongue,  but  deceiveth  his  own  heart,  this 
man's  religion  is  vain.  Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before 
God  and  the  Father  is  this,  To  visit  the  fatherless  and 
widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted 
from  the  world. 

More  extended  consideration  is  given  to  temptation 
(1:2-15),  to  the  relation  between  faith  and  works 
(2:14-26),  and  to  the  offenses  of  the  tongue  (3 :2-13). 
Characteristic  of  the  writer  is  his  strong  condemnation 
of  the  rich. 

My  brethren,  have  not  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Lord  of  glory,  with  respect  of  persons.  For 
if  there  come  unto  your  assembly  a  man  with  a  gold 
ring,  in  goodly  apparel,  and  there  come  in  also  a  poor 
man  in  vile  raiment ;  and  ye  have  respect  to  him  that 
weareth  the  gay  clothing,  and  say  unto  him.  Sit  thou 
here  in  a  good  place ;  and  say  to  the  poor,  Stand  thou 
there,  or  sit  here  under  my  footstool:  are  ye  not  then 
partial  in  yourselves,  and  are  become  judges  of  evil 
thoughts?  Hearken,  my  beloved  brethren,  Hath  not  God 
chosen  the  poor  of  this  world  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of 
the  kingdom  which  he  hath  promised  to  them  that  love 
him?  But  ye  have  despised  the  poor.  Do  not  rich  men 
oppress  you,  and  draw  you  before  the  judgment  seats? 
Do  not  they  blaspheme  that  worthy  name  by  the  which 
ye  are  called  ? 

And  again. 

Go  to  now,  ye  rich  men,  weep  and  howl  for  your 
miseries  that  shall  come  upon  you.  Your  riches  are  cor- 
rupted, and  your  garments  are  moth-eaten.  Your  gold 
and  silver  is  cankered ;  and  the  rust  of  them  shall  be  a 
witness  against  you,  and  shall  eat  your  flesh  as  it  were 


312        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

fire.  Ye  have  heaped  treasure  together  for  the  last  days. 
Behold,  the  hire  of  the  labourers  who  have  reaped  down 
your  fields,  which  is  of  you  kept  back  by  fraud,  crieth: 
and  the  cries  of  them  which  have  reaped  are  entered  into 
the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  sabaoth.  Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure 
on  the  earth,  and  been  wanton;  ye  have  nourished  your 
hearts  as  in  a  day  of  slaughter.  Ye  have  condemned  and 
killed  the  just;  and  he  doth  not  resist  you. 


Concerning  Jude,  who  calls  himself  the  brother  of 
James,  nothing  further  is  known.  He  says  that  he  was 
about  to  write  an  ordinary  letter  when  word  was 
brought  to  him  that  the  people  to  whom  he  intended 
to  write  were  at  that  moment  in  peril  of  heresy.  There- 
upon he  laid  aside  his  first  paper,  and  wrote  this.  The 
heresy  against  which  this  letter  was  directed  is  not  so 
described  that  we  are  able  to  identify  it.  Neither  are 
the  readers  of  the  epistle  reinforced  against  it  by  any 
provision  of  sound  reasoning.  The  writer  offers  neither 
criticism  nor  argument.  What  he  does  is  to  abuse  the 
heretics,  calling  them  names, — "fifthy  dreamers," 
"brute  breasts,"  and  the  like, — and  threatening  them 
with  such  punishments  as  befell  the  most  notorious  sin- 
ners of  antiquity, — the  rebel  angels,  the  citizens  of 
Sodom.  The  letter  contributes  nothing  to  religion  but 
a  bad  example  of  ill-tempered  and  altogether  unchris- 
tian controversy. 

m 

The  fact  that  this  letter  is  quoted,  almost  in  full, 
with  slight  changes,  in  the  Second  Epistle  of  Peter, 


THE    FIVE    SERMONS  313 

casts  serious  suspicion  upon  the  Petrine  authorship  of 
that  document.  For  this  was  not  at  all  the  spirit  of  St. 
Peter.  His  faults  leaned  quite  the  other  way,  toward 
compromise,  or  at  least  toward  conciliation.  He  was 
an  eminently  friendly  person,  who  disliked  to  differ 
from  his  neighbors,  and  sought  to  find  excuse  even  for 
their  most  evil  conduct.  He  had  no  malediction  even 
for  Judas  Iscariot.  It  has  been  guessed  that  perhaps 
Jude,  written  on  a  single  leaf,  was  accidentally  slipped 
in  between  the  two  leaves  of  Second  Peter,  and  in  this 
manner  came  to  be  his  second  chapter,  between  the 
first  and  the  third ! 

But  the  other  chapters  also  are  denied  to  Peter  by 
many  scholars,  even  from  the  time  of  Origen  in  the 
third  century,  by  whom  it  is  first  mentioned.  Peter, 
he  says,  left  one  epistle  which  is  generally  accepted, 
"and,  if  you  will,  a  second,  which  is  questioned."  A 
rather  late  date  is  suggested  by  the  reference  (3  :4)  to 
the  ''last  days,"  since  the  fathers  "fell  asleep;"  and  to 
the  epistles  of  St.  Paul,  collected,  and  set  up  reverently 
with  the  "other  scriptures."  (3  :15,  16). 

The  First  Epistle  of  Peter  is  addressed  "to  the 
strangers  scattered  throughout  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappa- 
docia,  Asia  and  Bithynia."  The  order  of  names  appears 
to  indicate  the  stages  of  the  journey  of  the  messenger, 
from  west  to  east,  and  thus  assists  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  "Babylon,"  from  which  the  letter  is  sent, 
as  meaning  Rome.  The  name  is  used  mystically  as  in 
Revelation.  The  author  is  the  apostle  Peter,  but  tlie 
writer  is  Silvanus  (5  :12).  This  is  the  Silvanus  whom 
we  have  met  already,  under  the  shortened  name  of 


314        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

Silas,  in  the  company  of  Paul  (Acts  15:40,  16:19-40, 
17 :10).  Remembering  that  Peter  spoke  Aramaic,  and 
needed  to  have  Mark  interpret  his  sermons  into  Greek, 
we  may  give  credit  to  Silvanus  for  the  good  Greek  of 
this  epistle,  and  it  may  be  that  several  Pauline  expres- 
sions in  it  should  be  traced  to  the  same  hand. 

The  occasion  of  the  letter  was  a  persecution  under 
which  the  Christians  were  suffering.  The  purpose  of 
the  apostle  was  partly  to  encourage  those  who  were 
thus  afflicted,  and  partly  to  exhort  them  not  to  deserve 
persecution  by  any  evil  doing.  He  would  have  Chris- 
tians known  for  their  good  citizenship  and  their  quiet 
conduct.  Christian  slaves  ought  to  be  distinguished 
for  the  patience  with  which  they  endure  injustice;  and 
Christian  wives  and  husbands,  neighbors  and  brethren, 
ought  so  to  live  *'that,  whereas  they  speak  evil  of  you, 
as  of  evildoers,  they  may  be  ashamed  that  falsely 
accuse  your  good  conversation  in  Christ." 

Dearly  beloved,  I  beseech  you  as  strangers  and  pil- 
grims, abstain  from  fleshly  lusts,  which  war  against  the 
soul;  having  your  conversation  honest  among  the  Gen- 
tiles :  that,  whereas  they  speak  against  you  as  evildoers, 
they  may  by  your  good  works,  which  they  shall  behold, 
glorify  God  in  the  day  of  visitation.  Submit  yourselves 
to  every  ordinance  of  man  for  the  Lord's  sake:  whether 
it  be  to  the  king,  as  supreme ;  or  unto  governors,  as  unto 
them  that  are  sent  by  him  for  the  punishment  of  evil- 
doers, and  for  the  praise  of  them  that  do  well.  For  so 
is  the  will  of  God,  that  with  well  doing  ye  may  put  to 
silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men :  as  free,  and  not 
using  your  liberty  for  a  cloak  of  maliciousness,  but  as  the 
servants  of  God.  Honour  all  men.  Love  the  brother- 
hood.  Fear  God.    Honour  the  king. 

Servants,  be  subject  to  your  masters  with  all  fear; 


THK    FIVE    SERInIONS  315 

not  only  to  the  good  and  gentle,  but  also  to  the  froward. 
For  this  is  thankworthy,  if  a  man  for  conscience  toward 
God  endure  grief,  suffering  wrongfully.  For  what  glory 
is  it,  if,  when  ye  be  buffeted  for  your  faults,  ye  shall  take 
it  patiently?  but  if,  when  ye  do  well,  and  suffer  for  it, 
ye  take  it  patiently,  this  is  acceptable  with  God.  For 
even  hereunto  were  ye  called :  because  Christ  also  suf- 
fered for  us,  leaving  us  an  example,  that  ye  should  fol- 
low his  steps :  who  did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found 
in  his  mouth:  who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not 
again ;  when  he  suffered  he  threatened  not ;  but  com- 
mitted himself  to  him  that  judgeth  righteously :  who  his 
own  self  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  that 
we,  being  dead  to  sins,  should  live  unto  righteousness: 
by  whose  stripes  ye  were  healed.  For  ye  were  as  sheep 
going  astray ;  but  are  now  returned  unto  the  Shepherd 
and  Bishop  of  your  souls. 

And  again. 

Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial 
which  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some  strange  thing  hap- 
pened unto  you:  but  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  par- 
takers of  Christ's  sufferings;  that,  when  his  glory  shall 
be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with  exceeding  joy.  If 
ye  be  reproached  for  the  name  of  Christ,  happy  are  ye : 
for  the  spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteth  upon  you :  on 
their  part  he  is  evil  spoken  of,  but  on  your  part  he  is 
glorified.  But  let  none  of  you  suffer  as  a  murderer,  or 
as  a  thief,  or  as  an  evildoer,  or  as  a  busybody  in  other 
men's  matters.  Yet  if  any  man  suffer  as  a  Christian,  let 
him  not  be  ashamed;  but  let  him  glorify  God  on  this 
behalf.  For  the  time  is  come  that  judgment  must  begin 
at  the  house  of  God :  and  if  it  first  begin  at  us,  what  shall 
the  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  God? 
And  if  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the 
ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear?  Wherefore  let  them  that 
suffer  according  to  the  will  of  God  commit  the  keeping 
of  their  souls  to  him  in  well  doing,  as  unto  a  faithful 
Creator. 


316        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

IV 

There  is  no  writer's  name  in  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews. The  ascription  of  the  book  to  Paul  the  apostle 
is  the  guess  of  the  scribe  to  whose  copy  we  are  indebted. 
He  also  guessed  that  it  was  written  to  the  Hebrews, 
i.  e.,  to  Christians  who  had  been  Jews,  probably  be- 
cause the  premises  of  the  writer's  argument  are  such 
as  to  appeal  to  such  readers. 

The  Pauline  authorship  of  Hebrews  is  made  improb- 
able, if  not  impossible,  by  several  considerations.  All 
the  letters  which  Paul  is  known  to  have  written  have 
his  name  in  the  salutation  at  the  beginning;  this  is 
anonymous.  The  attitude  of  Paul  toward  the  other 
apostles  was  one  of  emphatic  independence;  his  gospel, 
as  he  said,  came  not  from  them  but  straight  from 
heaven:  he  would  hardly  have  said  that  it  was  "con- 
firmed unto  us  by  them  that  heard  the  Lord"  (2:3). 
The  literary  style  of  Hebrews  differs  from  that  of  the 
Pauline  epistles  as  the  manner  of  Macaulay  differs 
from  that  of  Carlyle.  The  method  and  spirit  of  the 
writer  of  this  book  are  different  from  the  method  and 
spirit  of  St.  Paul. 

Thus  the  Judaism  with  which  Paul  deals  is  the  Juda- 
ism of  the  Pharisees,  who  are  concerned  with  ritual 
observances,  while  the  writer  of  Hebrews  has  in  mind 
the  Judaism  of  the  priests,  whose  sacrifices  are  com- 
pared with  the  sacrifice  of  the  death  of  Christ.  And 
the  method  of  Paul  is  one  of  contention,  while  the 
method  of  Hebrews  Is  one  of  conciliation.  To  the  mind 
of  Paul,  Judaism  is  a  bondage  too  grievous  to  be  borne. 


THE    FIVE    SERMONS  317 

and  Christianity  is  an  escape  into  a  glorious  liberty.  To 
the  writer  of  Hebrews,  Christianity  differs  from  Juda- 
ism mainly  in  degree :  it  is  a  higher  Judaism,  a  fulfill- 
ment of  all  that  is  best  in  the  old  religion,  the  reality 
of  which  Judaism  is  the  shadow  or  symbol. 

If  St.  Paul,  then,  did  not  write  Hebrews,  who  did? 
Tertullian,  at  the  end  of  the  second  century,  guessed 
that  the  writer  was  Barnabas.  Professor  Harnack 
guesses  that  the  waiter  was  Priscilla,  wife  of  Aquila. 
Others  guess  Apollos.  Fortunately,  we  do  not  need 
to  know.  Nothing  of  importance  in  the  interpretation 
of  this  writing  depends  on  the  name  of  the  writer.  As 
for  the  date  it  is  certainly  before  the  year  95,  when  it 
was  quoted  by  Clement  of  Rome,  and  probably  before 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  70,  an  event  of  which 
the  writer  would  naturally  have  made  use  had  it  al- 
ready taken  place. 

The  purpose  is  to  encourage  those  who  are  under 
two  great  difficulties. 

One  difficulty  arises  from  a  doubt  as  to  whether  the 
new  religion  is,  after  all,  so  good  as  the  old.  We  have 
left  the  ancient  church  whose  foundations  are  in  the 
Bible,  whose  minority  has  come  in  orderly  succession 
from  the  consecration  of  Aaron,  in  whose  devout  cus- 
toms we  were  brought  up.  Instead  of  the  sanctions  of 
the  long  past,  we  have  the  experiments  and  uncertain- 
ties present.  We  have  abandoned  the  splendors  of  the 
temple,  and  the  light  and  color  and  music  of  its  rever- 
ent services,  for  the  informalities  of  the  Christian  up- 
per rooms.  And  we  have  broken  with  our  friends.  Is 
it  worth  while?    Have  we  made  a  wise  choice?    It  is 


318        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

the  kind  of  anxiety  and  unrest  which  must  have  been 
felt  by  many  a  Protestant  who  had  separated  himself 
from  the  Church  of  Rome. 

In  reply,  the  writer  maintains  the  superiority  of  the 
Christian  religion.  Christ,  he  says,  who  is  higher  than 
the  angels  (1 :2)  is  of  more  glory  than  Moses,  even  as 
a  son  is  better  than  a  servant  (3)  and  has  a  more  sacred 
priesthood  than  that  of  Aaron  (4-7).  As  Paul,  re- 
membering the  early  chapters  of  Genesis,  had  declared 
that  Christ  is  a  second  Adam,  into  whose  spiritual  fam- 
ily we  enter  by  baptism  as  we  enter  the  natural  family 
of  the  first  Adam  by  birth,  so  the  writer  of  Hebrews, 
quoting  from  the  same  book,  maintains  that  Christ  is  a 
second  Melchizedek,  referring  to  that  mysterious  per- 
sonage, king  of  Salem,  and  priest  of  the  most  high  God, 
independent  of  ordination  or  descent,  to  whom  even 
Abraham  paid  homage  {Gen.  14:18-20).  So  too  is  the 
service  and  the  sanctuary  of  the  new  religion  better 
than  the  old  (8-10),  its  service  being  that  of  a  new 
covenant  between  God  and  man,  and  its  sanctuary 
heaven  itself. 

The  other  difficulty  is  like  that  to  which  the  First 
Epistle  of  Peter  is  addressed :  the  sufferings  of  those 
who  having  made  this  choice  are  enduring  the  dis- 
tresses of  persecution.  They  have  not  yet  "resisted 
unto  blood"  ( 12 :4)  but  they  have  had  the  unhappy  ex- 
perience of  the  spoiling  of  their  goods  (10:34). 

In  reply  the  writer  cites  the  inspiriting  examples  of 
the  worthies  of  old  time.  In  his  famous  eleventh  chap- 
ter they  march  before  us  in  procession,  the  heroes  and 
martyrs  of  faith. 


THE    FIVE    SERMONS  319 

Now  faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the 
evidence  of  things  not  seen.  For  by  it  the  elders  ob- 
tained a  good  report. 

Through  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds  were 
framed  by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  things  which  are  seen 
were  not  made  of  things  which  do  appear.  By  faith  Abel 
offered  unto  God  a  more  excellent  sacrifice  than  Cain, 
by  which  he  obtained  witness  that  he  was  righteous,  God 
testifying  of  his  gifts :  and  by  it  he  being  dead  yet  speak- 
eth.  By  faith  Enoch  was  translated  that  he  should  not 
see  death;  and  was  not  found,  because  God  had  trans- 
lated him:  for  before  his  translation  he  had  this  testi- 
mony, that  he  pleased  God.  But  without  faith  it  is  im- 
possible to  please  him:  for  he  that  cometh  to  God  must 
believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  revv-arder  of  them  that 
diligently  seek  him.  By  faith  Noah,  being  warned  of  God 
of  things  not  seen  as  yet,  moved  with  fear,  prepared  an 
ark  to  the  saving  of  his  house ;  by  the  which  he  con- 
demned the  world,  and  became  heir  of  the  righteousness 
which  is  by  faith.  By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  called 
to  go  out  into  a  place  which  he  should  after  receive  for 
an  inheritance,  obeyed;  and  he  went  out,  not  knowing 
whither  he  went.  By  faith  he  sojourned  in  the  land  of 
promise,  as  in  a  strange  country,  dwelling  in  tabernacles 
with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs  with  him  of  the  same 
promise :  for  he  looked  for  a  city  which  hath  foundations, 
whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.  Through  faith  also 
Sarah  herself  received  strength  to  conceive  seed,  and 
was  delivered  of  a  child  when  she  was  past  age,  because 
she  judged  him  faithful  who  had  promised.  Therefore 
sprang  there  even  of  one,  and  him  as  good  as  dead,  so 
many  as  the  stars  of  the  sky  in  multitude,  and  as  the 
sand  which  is  by  the  sea  shore  innumerable. 

These  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  received  the  prom- 
ises, but  having  seen  them  afar  off,  and  were  persuaded 
of  them,  and  embraced  them,  and  confessed  that  they 
were  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth.  For  they  that 
say  such  things  declare  plainly  that  they  seek  a  country. 
And  truly,  if  they  had  been  mindful  of  that  country  from 


320        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

whence  they  came  out,  they  might  have  had  opportunity 
to  have  returned.  But  now  they  desire  a  better  country, 
that  is,  an  heavenly:  wherefore  God  is  not  ashamed  to 
be  called  their  God:  for  he  hath  prepared  for  them  a 
city. 

By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  tried,  offered  up 
Isaac:  and  he  that  had  received  the  promises  offered  up 
his  only  begotten  son,  of  whom  it  was  said : — "That 
in  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called;"  accounting  that  God 
was  able  to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead:  from 
whence  also  he  received  him  in  a  figure.  By  faith 
Isaac  blessed  Jacob  and  Esau  concerning  things  to  come. 
By  faith  Jacob,  when  he  was  a  dying,  blessed  both 
the  sons  of  Joseph;  and  worshipped,  leaning  upon  the 
top  of  his  staff.  By  faith  Joseph,  when  he  died,  made 
mention  of  the  departing  of  the  children  of  Israel;  and 
gave  commandment  concerning  his  bones.  By  faith  Moses 
when  he  was  born,  was  hid  three  months  of  his  parents, 
because  they  say  he  was  a  proper  child;  and  they  were 
not  afraid  of  the  king's  commandment.  By  faith  Moses, 
when  he  was  come  to  years,  refused  to  be  called  the  son 
of  Pharaoh's  daughter:  choosing  rather  to  suffer  afflic- 
tion with  the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures 
of  sin  for  a  season;  esteeming  the  reproach  of  Christ 
greater  riches  than  the  treasures  in  Egypt:  for  he  had 
respect  unto  the  recompense  of  the  reward.  By  faith  he 
forsook  Egypt,  not  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  king :  for  he 
endured,  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible.  Through  faith 
he  kept  the  passover,  and  the  sprinkling  of  blood,  lest  he 
that  destroyed  the  firstborn  should  touch  them.  By  faith 
they  passed  through  the  Red  sea  as  by  dry  land :  which 
the  Egyptians  essaying  to  do  were  drowned.  By  faith  the 
walls  of  Jericho  fell  down,  after  they  were  compassed 
about  seven  days.  By  faith  the  harlot  Rahab  perished 
not  with  them  that  believed  not,  when  she  had  received 
the  spies  with  peace. 

And  what  shall  I  more  say?  for  the  time  would  fail 
me  to  tell  of  Gideon,  and  of  Barak,  and  of  Samson, 
and  of  Jephthae;  of  David  also,  and  Samuel,  and  of 


THE    FIVE    SERMONS  321 

the  prophets:  who  through  faith  subdued  kingdoms, 
wrought  righteousness,  obtained  promises,  stopped  the 
mouths  of  Hons,  quenched  the  violence  of  fire,  escaped 
the  edge  of  the  sword,  out  of  weakness  were  made  strong, 
waxed  vaHant  in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the  armies  of  the 
ahens.  Women  received  their  dead  raised  to  hfe  again : 
and  others  were  tortured,  not  accepting  deHverance ;  that 
they  might  obtain  a  better  resurrection:  and  others  had 
trial  of  cruel  mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover 
of  bonds  and  imprisonment :  they  were  stoned,  they  were 
sawn  asunder,  were  tempted,  were  slain  with  the  sword : 
they  wandered  about  in  sheepskins  and  goatskins ;  being 
destitute,  afflicted,  tormented;  (of  whom  the  world  was 
not  worthy)  they  wandered  in  deserts,  and  in  mountains, 
and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth. 

And  these  all,  having  obtained  a  good  report  through 
faith,  received  not  the  promise:  God  having  provided 
some  better  thing  for  us,  that  they  without  us  should 
not  be  made  perfect. 

Wherefore  seeing  we  also  are  compassed  about  with 
so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  every 
weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and 
let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us, 
looking  unto  Jesus  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith ; 
who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him  endured  the 
cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne  of  God. 


The  subject  of  Hebrews  is  the  Heavenly  Priesthood 
of  Christ.  The  writer,  who  says  of  Christ  that  he  was 
"tempted  in  all  things  like  as  we  are,"  though  without 
sin,  and  that  "in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  when  he  had 
offered  up  prayers  and  supplications  with  strong  crying 
and  tears  unto  him  that  was  able  to  save  him  from 
death,  he  was  heard  in  that  he  feared,"  and  "though 
he  were  a  Son,  yet  learned  he  obedience  by  the  things 


322        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

which  he  suffered ;"  adds  that  "being  made  perfect  he 
became  the  author  of  eternal  salvation  unto  all  them 
that  obey  him"  (5:7-9).  In  the  heavenly  places,  as  a 
priest  forever,  he  makes  intercession  for  us. 


XXI 

THE  JOHANNINE  BOOKS 

FIVE  books  remain  to  be  considered,  a  gospel,  three 
epistles  and  the  Revelation.    All  of  them,  in  our 
Bible,  bear  the  name  of  John. 

The  question  of  authorship  is  still  under  debate,  and 
various  opinions  find  good  standing  under  the  names 
of  excellent  scholars.  Thus  some  think  that  all  five  of 
these  books  were  written  by  John  the  apostle.  Some 
would  except  the  Revelation,  holding  that  while  the 
writer's  name  was  John  he  was  not  an  apostle  but  a 
prophet,  (Rev.  22:9)  between  which  orders  St.  Paul 
makes  a  distinction  (/  Cor.  12:28).  Some  would  ex- 
cept the  Second  and  Third  Epistles,  which  begin  in  the 
name  of  "the  elder"  i.  e.  "the  presbyter,"  and  may 
therefore  be  attributed  to  John  the  presbyter,  whom 
Papias  mentions  as  a  person  of  importance  in  his  neigh- 
borhood near  Ephesus.  Some  who  would  assign  both 
the  First  Epistle  and  the  Gospel  to  John  the  apostle  are 
inclined  to  say  of  the  gospel  that  it  is  "according  to 
St.  John,"  as  the  first  gospel  is  "according  to  St.  Mat- 
thew," in  the  sense  of  containing  much  information 
which  was  derived  from  him,  but  which  was  gathered 
and  put  in  writing  by  another  person,  a  disciple  of  the 
apostle,  whom  we  may  therefore  call  John  the  evan- 
gelist. 

323 


324        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

These  questions  were  of  considerable  importance 
when  the  test  of  the  value  of  ancient  Christian  writings 
turned  upon  the  name  of  the  writer,  and  a  book  was 
declared  to  be  good  if  it  could  be  proved  to  have  had 
an  apostle  for  its  author.  We  do  not  at  present  stand 
in  this  ancient  awe  of  apostles  as  apostles.  We  con- 
ceive it  not  unlikely  that  a  book  by  St.  James  the  Less 
might  be  entirely  uninteresting,  and  that  St.  Simon  the 
Zealot  might  be  led  by  his  zealous  spirit  to  speak  unad- 
visedly with  his  pen.  The  test  of  the  value  of  a  book 
is  the  book.  At  the  same  time,  while  we  say  this  as  to 
Revelation  and  the  three  epistles,  about  whose  author- 
ship we  care  little,  we  have  a  different  feeling  as  to  the 
gospel.  It  is  of  much  concern  to  us  to  know  how  near 
we  come  in  this  book  to  the  actual  presence  of  Jesus 
Christ. 


The  earliest  evidence  as  to  the  authorship  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel  is  in  the  appendix  to  that  book.  The 
gospel  ends  with  the  conclusion  of  the  twentieth  chap- 
ter. "Many  other  signs  truly  did  Jesus  in  the  presence 
of  his  disciples  which  are  not  written  in  this  book;  but 
these  are  written  that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  believing  ye  might 
have  life  through  his  name."  Then  a  chapter  is  added, 
at  the  close  of  which,  referring  to  "the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved,  who  also  leaned  upon  his  breast  at  sup- 
per," it  Is  said  "this  is  the  disciple  which  testifieth  of 
these  things  and  wrote  these  things,  and  we  know  that 
his  testimony  is  true."     This  may  apply  only  to  the 


THE    JOHANNINE    BOOKS  325 

appendix,  but  it  probably  applies  to  the  whole  book. 
Who  these  are  whose  certificate  is  thus  made  we  do  not 
know;  nor  is  it  absolutely  certain,  though  most  likely, 
that  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved  was  the  apostle 
John. 

The  first  clear  statement  is  made  by  Irenseus.  He 
was  a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  who  was  a  disciple  of  John 
the  apostle.  "You  remember,"  he  says  in  a  letter  to 
his  fellow-disciple  Florinus,  "how  Polycarp  used  to 
tell  us  what  he  had  been  told  by  John."  The  connec- 
tion is  so  close  as  to  give  great  value  to  the  assertion 
of  Irenseus,  "John,  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,  who 
leaned  upon  his  breast,  published  a  gospel  during  his 
residence  at  Ephesus  in  Asia."  Irenseus  also  says  that 
John  lived  in  Ephesus  until  the  reign  of  Trajan;  which 
began  in  the  year  98. 

Over  against  this  clear  evidence  are  several  conflict- 
ing considerations.  One  is  the  statement,  attributed  to 
Papias,  that  John  suffered  martyrdom,  along  with 
James  his  brother,  at  the  hands  of  the  Jews,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  first  century.  This,  if  it  could  be  verified, 
would  of  course  settle  the  matter.  In  view,  however, 
of  the  plain  testimony  of  Irenaeus,  and  of  the  general 
tradition  that  John  outlived  the  other  apostles,  one 
would  like  to  know  more  certainly  just  what  Papias 
said.  There  is  a  possibility  here  of  misquotation,  or  of 
misunderstanding. 

As  for  the  fact  that  the  gospel  is  written  in  excellent 
Greek,  and  that  the  prologue  seems  to  show  acquaint- 
ance with  Alexandrian  philosophy,  and  that  this  is  in- 
consistent with  the  education  of  John  the  fisherman  of 


326        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

Galilee,  we  may  readily  make  room  here  for  John  the 
evangelist.  As  we  have  in  the  Second  Gospel  the  recol- 
lections of  St.  Peter  translated  and  recorded  for  us  by 
the  evangelist  Mark,  so  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  we  may 
have  the  recollections  of  St.  John  brought  to  us  in  a 
like  manner.  We  may  have  the  First  Epistle  also  from 
the  same  hand,  some  unnamed  secretary  and  translator 
doing  for  John  what  Silvanus  did  for  Peter. 

As  for  the  surpassing  greatness  of  the  book, — one  of 
the  supreme  treasures  not  only  of  religion  but  of  litera- 
ture,— and  the  contrast  which  it  opposes  to  everything 
else  which  is  known  about  John,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
same  contrast  perplexes  the  scholars  who  compare  the 
subtilty  of  Hamlet  with  the  hopelessly  commonplace 
character  of  almost  everything  which  is  known  about 
Shakespeare.  The  truth  is  that  genius  grows  up  like  a 
rare  flower  out  of  most  unpromising  soil.  Moreover 
this  gospel,  which  has  the  singular  peculiarity  of  never 
mentioning  the  name  of  the  apostle  John,  may  illustrate 
the  illumination  of  the  soul  of  a  man  who  has  not  only 
been  with  Jesus,  but  has  thereafter  spent  many  years 
pondering  the  meaning  of  that  which  he  saw  and  heard. 

Coming  now  to  the  gospel  itself,  it  is  evidently  dif- 
ferent from  the  other  three  in  its  account  of  the  minis- 
try of  Jesus.  Up  to  the  beginning  of  the  last  week, 
there  is  hardly  anything  in  John  which  is  to  be  found  in 
Matthew,  Mark  or  Luke.  This  difference,  however,  is 
not  contradictory  but  supplementary.  The  Fourth 
Gospel  adds  to  the  other  three  an  account  of  a  ministry 
in  Judea  and  Jerusalem,  as  the  Third  Gospel  had  al- 
ready added  to  the  other  two  an  account  of  a  ministry 


THE   JOHANNINE    BOOKS  Z27 

in  Perea,  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan  i^Mk.  10:1,  Lk. 
9:51-18:14).  If  Luke,  instead  of  taking  over  into  his 
gospel  the  recollections  of  Peter  and  the  records  of 
Matthew,  had  used  only  the  materials  which  he  derived 
from  other  sources,  we  would  have  had  a  book  which 
would  have  differed  from  the  others  in  almost  all  of 
the  details  of  its  presentation  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus. 
It  would  have  differed  from  them  not  only  in  its  scene 
but  in  its  spirit.  It  would  have  been  a  social  gospel. 
It  would  have  begun  with  the  appearance  of  the  Christ- 
mas angels  to  the  simple  shepherds  of  Bethlehem,  in 
contrast  with  the  Epiphany  kings  of  Matthew;  it  would 
have  included  that  democratic  and  revolutionary  an- 
them, the  Magnificat ;  and  it  would  have  narrated  a 
series  of  social  parables,  such  as  the  Good  Samaritan, 
and  the  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus.  This  kind  of  gospel 
John  has  made,  using  material  to  which  the  other  evan- 
gelists had  no  access,  and  producing  a  book  which  por- 
trays Jesus  under  an  aspect  unlike  that  of  either  the 
Perean  or  the  Galilean  ministry.  The  result  is  a  spirit- 
ual gospel. 

The  difference,  however,  between  the  Fourth  Gospel 
and  the  three  consists  in  much  more  than  addition.  Je- 
sus speaks  here  in  a  manner  quite  other  than  that  to 
which  the  earlier  gospels  have  accustomed  us :  in  sen- 
tences long  and  mystical.  It  is  the  style  of  St.  John's 
First  Epistle.  The  inference  is  that  the  evangelist,  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  the  historians  of  that  time,  wrote 
these  discourses  himself.  This  he  may  well  have  done 
on  the  basis  of  what  Jesus  actually  said,  according  to 
his  own  memory;  directly,  if  the  gospel  was  written  by 


328        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

the  apostle  John  himself,  or  indirectly,  if  it  was  written 
by  a  disciple  of  the  apostle.  In  either  case,  many  years 
had  passed  since  the  words  were  spoken, — forty,  fifty, 
sixty  years.  Over  such  a  space  even  an  Oriental  mem- 
ory would  hardly  carry  an  extended  sequence  of  sen- 
tences. The  ideas  would  be  remembered,  but  the  ex- 
pression of  them  must  be  now  made,  to  a  large  extent, 
in  the  manner  not  of  the  speaker  but  of  the  writer. 

The  difference  in  the  discourses  of  Jesus  in  the  first 
three  gospels  and  in  the  fourth  is  illustrated  by  the 
difference  between  Xenophon's  Memorabilia  of  So- 
crates, and  Plato's  Dialogues,  Here  is  plainly  the  same 
Socrates,  concerning  whom  each  of  these  disciples  bears 
his  testimony  according  to  his  own  spirit  and  ability. 
One  is  a  soldier,  whose  impression  of  Socrates  reveals 
him  as  a  homely,  simple  and  direct  speaker,  wonderful 
as  a  teacher,  and  more  wonderful  as  an  inspired  man. 
The  other  is  a  scholar,  whose  mind  responds  to  notes  in 
the  voice  of  Socrates  which  the  ear  of  the  soldier  never 
heard;  the  simplicity,  directness,  homeliness,  remain 
but  are  taken  over  into  profundity  and  sublimity. 
There  is  hardly  more  difference  between  the  Jesus  of 
the  Fourth  Gospel  and  of  the  three  than  there  is  be- 
tween the  Socrates  of  Xenophon  and  of  Plato. 

What  we  have  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  is  a  special  as- 
pect of  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  recorded  for  a  special 
purpose.  The  rise  of  the  Gnostic  heresy  had  forced 
upon  the  church  the  necessity  of  defining  the  person  of 
Christ.  How  was  he  related  to  this  material  body,  in 
which  the  Gnostics  found  the  source  of  all  evil?  How 
was  he  related  to  the  God  of  the  universe,  who  accord- 


THE   JOHANNINE    BOOKS  329 

ing  to  the  Gnostics  is  infinitely  removed  from  all  our 
life?  He  said  much  about  conduct,  what  did  he  say 
about  himself?  St.  John  searches  his  memory  of  the 
ministry  of  Jesus  for  answers  to  these  questions.  He 
does  not  mean  to  write  a  life  of  Christ,  but  rather  to 
bring  forward  such  aspects  of  that  life  as  bear  upon 
the  contemporary  difficulties  of  belief.  "These  are 
written  that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God."  Here  the  name  Jesus  carries  with 
it  the  assertion  of  the  humanity  of  Christ :  he  did  not 
merely  appear  to  be  a  man  and  have  a  body,  as  the 
Gnostics  held.  And  the  title.  Son  of  God,  is  an  asser- 
tion of  the  divinity  of  Christ:  he  was  not  merely  an 
angel  or  an  seon,  as  the  Gnostics  taught. 

Thus  in  Browning's  poem  A  Death  in  the  Desert, 
the  aged  apostle  describes  his  writing,  how  he 

".    .    .   patient  stated  much  of  the  Lord's  life 

Forgotten  or  misdelivered,  and  let  it  work : 

Since  much  that  at  the  first,  in  deed  and  word, 

Lay  simply  and  sufficiently  exposed. 

Had  grown  (or  else  my  soul  was  grown  to  match, 

Fed  through  such  years,  familiar  with  such  light, 

Guarded  and  guided  still  to  see  and  speak) 

Of  new  significance  and  fresh  result ; 

What  first  were  guessed  as  points,  I  now  knew  stars. 

And  named  them  in  the  gospel  I  have  writ." 

By  some  such  process,  through  years  of  experience 
and  reflection,  the  Fourth  Gospel  was  written ;  as  when 
by  long  examination  of  a  beautiful  object  in  nature  or 
art  the  observer  discovers  wonders  that  he  has  missed 
in  his  first  studies.  So  to  the  patient  and  careful  writer 
of  a  biography,  who  collects  his  materials,  and  reads  a 


330        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

thousand  letters,  and  broods  over  these  things  through 
a  course  of  years,  the  nobihty  of  a  hero  or  the  sanctity 
of  a  saint  may  be  revealed  as  nobody  had  seen  it  before. 
The  "points,"  as  they  are  observed  day  by  day,  are  at 
last  recognized  as  stars. 

The  gospel  rises  to  its  greatest  heights  In  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  chapters;  one  of  them  containing 
the  discourse  in  the  upper  room,  and  the  other  the 
words  of  the  Master  to  his  disciples  as  they  go  out 
together  into  the  paschal  moonlight  toward  the  Gar- 
den of  Gethsemane. 


"Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled:  ye  believe  in  God, 
believe  also  in  me.  In  my  Father's  house  are  many  man- 
sions: if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to 
prepare  a  place  for  you,  and  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place 
for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto  myself : 
that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also.  And  whither  I 
go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know." 

Thomas  saith  unto  him : — "Lord,  we  know  not  whither 
thou  goest ;  and  how  can  we  know  the  way  ?"  Jesus  said 
unto  him : — 

"I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life :  no  man  cometh 
unto  the  Father,  but  by  me.  If  ye  had  known  me,  ye 
should  have  known  my  Father  also:  and  from  hence- 
forth ye  know  him,  and  have  seen  him. 

"Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I  give  unto  you: 
not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you.  Let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid. 

"I  am  the  true  vine,  and  my  father  is  the  husbandman. 
Every  branch  in  me  that  beareth  not  fruit  he  taketh 
away:  and  every  branch  that  beareth  fruit,  he  purgeth 
it,  that  it  may  bring  forth  more  fruit.  Now  ye  are  clean 
through  the  word  which  I  have  spoken  unto  you.  Abide 
in  me,  and  I  in  you.  As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of 
itself,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine ;  no  more  can  ye,  except 


THE   JOHANNINE   BOOKS  331 

ye  abide  in  me.  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches:  he 
that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth 
much  fruit :  for  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing. 

"These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  my  joy 
might  remain  in  you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be  full. 
This  is  my  commandment,  that  ye  love  one  another,  as  I 
have  loved  you.  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that 
a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends.  Ye  are  my 
friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you.  Hence- 
forth I  call  you  not  servants;  for  the  servant  knoweth 
not  what  his  lord  doeth:  but  I  have  called  you  friends; 
for  all  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my  Father  I  have 
made  known  unto  you. 

"These  things  I  command  you,  that  ye  love  one  an- 
other. If  the  world  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it  hated  me 
before  it  hated  you.  If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world 
would  love  his  own :  but  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world, 
but  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the 
world  hateth  you.  Remember  the  word  that  I  said  unto 
you,  'The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord.'  If  they 
have  persecuted  me,  they  will  also  persecute  you :  if  they 
have  kept  my  saying,  they  will  keep  yours  also.  But  all 
these  things  will  they  do  unto  you  for  my  name's  sake, 
because  they  know  not  him  that  sent  me." 


Of  the  three  epistles,  the  second  and  third  are  notes 
rather  than  letters.  One  was  written  to  a  church, 
which  is  called  the  "elect  lady" ;  the  other  to  a  member 
of  the  congregation,  named  Gains.  The  two  seem  to 
have  been  sent  on  the  same  day,  in  preparation  for  an 
expected  visit.  Thus,  in  the  Second  Epistle,  "Having 
many  things  to  write  unto  you,  I  would  not  write  with 
paper  and  ink,  but  I  trust  to  come  unto  you,  and  speak 
face  to  face,  that  our  joy  may  be  full."  And  again, 
in  the  Third  Epistle,  "I  had  many  things  to  write,  but  I 


332        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

will  not  with  ink  and  pen  write  unto  thee,  but  I  trust 
I  shall  shortly  see  thee,  and  we  shall  speak  face  to 
face."  The  little  letters  give  us  a  dim  glimpse  of  wan- 
dering preachers,  some  of  whom  are  deceivers  who 
"confess  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh": 
Gnostic  heretics  who  can  not  believe  that  the  divine 
Christ  really  had  a  human  body.  If  any  such  come, 
"receive  him  not  into  your  house,  neither  bid  him  God 
speed ;  for  he  that  biddeth  him  God  speed  is  partaker 
of  his  evil  deeds."  Other  preachers,  of  a  different 
doctrine,  are  to  be  brought  forward  on  their  journey 
"after  a  godly  sort."  But  these  good  men,  Diotrophes, 
"who  loveth  to  have  the  pre-eminence,"  but  who  seems 
to  have  been  a  bit  of  a  heretic  himself,  not  only  refuses 
to  receive,  but  proposes  that  such  as  do  receive  them 
shall  be  cast  out  of  the  church.  It  is  like  opening  a  door 
for  a  moment  upon  a  clamor  of  contending  voices,  and 
then  shutting  it  again. 

The  First  Epistle  is  without  writer's  name,  like  the 
other  two,  but  it  is  plainly  by  the  same  hand  as  the 
gospel.  It  is  concerned  in  part  with  an  error  in  the- 
ology, and  in  part  with  an  error  in  morality.  The  false 
doctrine  is  the  Gnostic  theory  that  Christ  could  not 
have  come  in  the  flesh.  "Every  spirit  that  confesseth 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  of  God;  and 
every  spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
come  in  the  flesh  is  not  of  God;  and  this  is  that  spirit 
of  antichrist  whereof  ye  have  heard  that  should  come, 
and  even  now  already  it  is  in  the  world."  The  wrong 
conduct  proceeds  from  a  theory  that  a  Christian  can  not 
sin,  being  above  the  law.    It  may  have  been  a  perver- 


THE   JOHANNINE   BOOKS  333 

sion  of  St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith  not  by 
works.  Against  this,  the  writer  says,  "If  we  say  that 
we  have  no  sin  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is 
not  in  us ;"  and  again,  "He  that  saith  I  know  him,  and 
keepeth  not  his  commandments  is  a  liar."  In  one  place 
the  epistle  seems  to  countenance  the  notion  which  it  is 
meant  to  contradict :  "Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth 
not  commit  sin ;  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him ;  and  he 
cannot  sin,  because  he  is  bom  of  God."  But  the  idea 
is  that  the  outer  life  reveals  the  inner  spirit,  and  shows 
of  what  sort  we  are.  "In  this  the  children  of  God  are 
manifest,  and  the  children  of  the  devil:  whosoever 
doeth  not  righteousness  is  not  of  God,  neither  he  that 
loveth  not  his  brother."  "Little  children,  let  no  man 
deceive  you,  he  that  doeth  righteousness  is  righteous, 
even  as  he  is  righteous.  He  that  committeth  sin  is  of 
the  devil." 

St.  John  agrees  with  St.  Paul  in  making  brotherly 
love  the  summit  and  summary  of  all  ethical  excellence. 
He  speaks  with  an  eloquence  which  sets  some  parts  of 
this  epistle  by  the  side  of  the  great  chapter  on  charity. 

Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another:  for  love  is  of  God; 
and  every  one  that  loveth  is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth 
God.  He  that  loveth  not  knoweth  not  God;  for  God  is 
love.  In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God  toward  us, 
because  that  God  sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into  the 
world,  that  we  might  live  through  him.  Herein  is  love, 
not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his 
Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins. 

Beloved,  if  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  also  to  love  one 
another.  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time.  If  we  love 
one  another,  God  dwelleth  in  us,  and  his  love  is  perfected 
in  us.   Hereby  know  we  that  we  dwell  in  him,  and  he  in 


334        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

us,  because  he  hr.ih  given  us  of  his  spirit.  And  we  have 
seen  and  do  testify  that  the  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  Whosoever  shall  confess  that 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  God  dwelleth  in  him,  and  he  in 
God.  And  we  have  known  and  believed  the  love  that  God 
hath  to  us. 

God  is  love;  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth  in 
God,  and  God  in  him.  Herein  is  our  love  made  perfect, 
that  we  may  have  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment:  be- 
cause as  he  is,  so  are  we  in  this  world.  There  is  no  fear 
in  love :  but  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear :  because  fear 
hath  torment.  He  that  feareth  is  not  made  perfect  in 
love.  We  love  him  because  he  first  loved  us.  If  a  man 
say,  I  love  God,  and  hateth  his  brother,  he  is  a  liar:  for 
he  that  loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  how 
can  he  love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen  ?  And  this  com- 
mandment have  we  from  him,  that  he  who  loveth  God 
love  his  brother  also. 

Ill 


The  Revelation  was  written  by  a  man  named  John : 
so  much  is  clearly  stated.  It  is  unlikely,  however,  that 
he  was  the  John  of  the  gospel,  for  the  two  books  are 
markedly  different,  both  in  style  and  in  spirit.  The 
literary  style  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  is  that  of  a  man  of 
education;  the  language  of  the  Revelation  is  that  of  a 
man  of  genius,  who  has  the  expression  of  a  poet,  and 
speaks  in  splendid  sentences, — not  all  of  which  are 
quite  correct  grammatically. 

The  chief  difference  is  in  spirit.  The  gospel  and 
the  epistles  agree  in  presenting  Jesus  as  a  man,  super- 
natural but  still  natural;  the  writer  of  Revelation  sees 
among  the  golden  candlesticks  "one  like  unto  the  Son 
of  Man,  clothed  with  a  garment  down  to  the  foot  and 
girt  about  the  breast  with  a  golden  girdle.     His  head 


THE   JOHANNINE    BOOKS  335 

and  his  hairs  were  white  Hke  wool,  as  white  as  snow, 
and  his  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  his  feet  Hke 
unto  fine  brass,  as  if  they  burned  in  a  furnace,  and  his 
voice  as  the  sound  of  many  waters."  This  might  be 
explained  as  the  difference  between  prose  and  poetry. 
But  not  so  the  contrast  between  the  brotherly  love 
which  is  praised  and  exalted  in  the  gospel  and  the  First 
Epistle,  and  the  hatred  and  vengeance  of  the  Revela- 
tion. The  whole  book  exults  over  the  approaching 
punishment  and  destruction  of  Rome,  as  Nahum,  in  a 
former  time,  had  exulted  over  the  fall  of  Nineveh. 
Between  the  saint  who  said,  "He  that  hateth  his  brother 
is  a  murderer,"  and  the  saints  who  cried,  "How  long, 
O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  avenge  our  blood 
on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,"  there  is  a  whole  diam- 
eter of  difference.  The  contrast  is  plain  to  every  reader 
between  the  quiet,  serene  mysticism  of  the  Gospel  of 
John  and  the  vindictive  passion  of  the  Revelation  of 
John.  If  the  apostle  wrote  the  Revelation, — fulfilHng 
his  character  as  one  of  the  Boanerges,  "sons  of  thun- 
der,"— he  must  have  done  so  very  early  in  his  minis- 
try, while  he  was  still  only  partially  converted.  But 
the  book  seems  to  have  been  written  to  the  beginning 
of  the  last  decade  of  the  first  century,  the  time  of 
Domitian. 

Revelation  belongs  to  a  considerable  body  of  writ- 
ings, of  which  Daniel  and  Zechariah  are  the  most 
familiar  examples  in  the  Old  Testament.  The  Book 
of  Enoch,  and  the  Assumption  of  Moses,  which  are 
quoted  in  Jude,  belong  to  the  same  class.  All  such 
writings  agree  in  their  occasion,   their  purpose  and 


336        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

their  method.  The  occasion  is  the  oppression  or  the 
persecution  of  the  faithful  at  the  hands  of  a  cruel  and 
dominant  nation;  the  purpose  is  to  comfort  and 
hearten  those  who  are  thus  suffering  with  the  promise 
of  a  sure  deliverance;  and  the  method  is  the  use  of 
strange,  cryptic  figures  or  symbols,  often  in  the  form 
of  beasts  with  many  heads  and  horns,  and  the  repre- 
sentation of  great  events  in  the  guise  of  falling  stars 
and  skies. 

The  occasion  here  is  the  persecution  of  the  Chris- 
tians by  the  Romans ;  as  Daniel  was  occasioned  by  the 
persecution  of  the  Jews  by  the  Greeks.  The  number 
of  the  beast  at  the  end  of  the  thirteendi  chapter  spells 
the  name  of  Nero  Caesar.  This  is  what  six  hundred 
and  sixty-six  amounts  to  when  the  figures  are  given 
their  equivalents  in  Hebrew  letters.  Plainly,  it  was 
not  safe  to  write  such  names  in  Greek  or  Latin. 
Reference  is  made  in  their  veiled  way  to  the  belief 
among  the  people  of  the  empire  that  Nero,  though  he 
had  been  killed,  would  come  to  life  again.  "I  saw  one 
of  his  heads  as  it  were  wounded  to  death;  and  his 
deadly  wound  was  healed ;  and  all  the  world  wondered 
after  the  beast"  (13:3).  Reference  is  made  also  to 
the  requirement  that  all  men  should  worship  the 
image  of  the  emperor,  upon  pain  of  death,  a  require- 
ment under  which  many  martyrs  lost  their  lives.  He 
said  "to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  that  they  should 
make  an  image  to  the  beast  which  had  the  wound  by  a 
sword  and  did  live.  And  he  had  power  to  give  life 
unto  the  image  of  the  beast,  that  the  image  of  the 
beast  should  both  speak  and  cause  that  as  many  as 


THE   JOHANNINE    BOOKS  337 

would  not  worship  the  image  of  the  beast  should  be 
killed." 

The  purpose  is  to  encourage  those  who  are  under 
persecution  with  the  assurance  that  God  shall  surely 
help  them  by  the  overthrow  of  their  enemies,  and  that 
soon.  ^'Behold,  I  come  quickly.'*  'These  things  are 
faithful  and  true,  and  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy 
prophets  sent  his  angel  to  show  unto  his  servants  the 
things  which  must  shortly  be  done."  "He  that 
testifieth  these  things  said,  'Surely,  I  will  come 
quickly.' "  To  which  the  seer  responds,  "Amen. 
Even  so  come.  Lord  Jesus."  Thus  the  meaning  of 
Revelation,  like  all  the  other  "revelations,"  is  pri- 
marily local.  The  book  has  no  application  beyond  the 
reign  of  the  Emperor  Domitian,  except  so  far  as  it 
deals  with  a  situation  in  the  first  century  on  the  basis 
of  principles  which  are  everlastingly  valid. 

The  subject  of  the  book  is  the  Sure  Destruction  of 
the  Enemies  of  God.  It  begins  with  a  short  prologue 
which  prays  for  a  blessing  on  the  reader,  and  ends 
with  a  short  epilogue  which  pronounces  a  curse  on  any 
writer  who  copies  the  manuscript  incorrectly.  Between 
is  a  series  of  seven  visions. 

L  Christ  in  glory  sends  messages  (1-3)  to  the 
seven  churches  of  Asia  Minor. 

2.  One  who  is  represented  by  the  symbol  of  a  lamb 
"as  it  had  been  slain,  having  seven  heads  and  seven 
horns,"  opens  one  after  another  the  seven  seals  of  a 
book  (4-7)  and  the  opening  of  each  seal  is  followed 
by  some  figure  of  calamity:  the  first  by  victory  on  a 
white  horse,  the  second  by  war  on  a  red  horse,  the 


338        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

third  by  famine  on  a  black  horse,  the  fourth  by  death 
on  a  pale  horse.  After  the  fifth  seal,  the  souls  of  the 
martyrs  cry  for  vengeance;  after  the  sixth,  there  is  an 
earthquake,  and  an  eclipse,  and  the  Day  of  the  Lord 
seems  about  to  appear.  But  there  is  an  interlude  of 
adoring  saints. 

After  this  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  a  great  multitude,  which 
no  man  could  number,  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and 
peoples,  and  tongues,  stood  before  the  throne,  and  before 
the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their 
hands:  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying: — "Salvation 
to  our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto 
the  Lamb."  And  all  the  angels  stood  round  about  the 
throne,  and  about  the  elders  and  the  four  living  crea- 
tures, and  fell  before  the  throne  on  their  faces,  and  wor- 
shipped God,  saying : — '"Amen :  Blessing,  and  glory, 
and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honour,  and  power, 
and  might,  be  unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen." 
And  one  of  the  elders  answered,  saying  unto  me: — 
"What  are  these  which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes?  and 
whence  came  they?"  And  I  said  unto  him: — "Sir,  thou 
knowest."  And  he  said  to  me: — "These  are  they  which 
came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their 
robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve 
him  day  and  night  in  his  temple :  and  he  that  sitteth  on 
the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them.  They  shall  hunger 
no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more;  neither  shall  the  sun 
light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb  which  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead 
them  unto  living  fountains  of  water :  and  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes." 

The  opening  of  the  seventh  seal  is  followed  not  by 
the  final  consummation  but  by  a  half -hour  of  prepara- 
tory silence  which  leads  to  the  beginning  of  another 
series. 


THE   JOHANNINE    BOOKS  339 

3.  Seven  angels  blow  seven  trumpets  (8-11)  and 
after  each  blast  follows  a  calamity :  there  is  fire  on  the 
earth,  fire  on  the  sea,  poison  in  the  rivers,  the  skies 
fall,  out  of  the  bottomless  pit  come  demon  locusts,  and 
from  the  Euphrates  an  army  of  demon  horsemen. 
Then  another  interlude :  a  book  is  eaten,  two  witnesses 
finish  their  testimony,  and  a  beast  from  the  bottomless 
pit  overcomes  them  and  kills  them,  and  their  dead 
bodies  lie  "in  the  street  of  the  great  city,  which 
spiritually  is  called  Sodom  and  Egypt,  where  also  our 
Lord  was  crucified."  There  they  lie  "three  days  and 
a  half."  "And  they  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall 
rejoice  over  them,  and  make  merry,  and  shall  send 
gifts  one  to  another,  because  these  two  prophets  tor- 
mented them  that  dwelt  on  the  earth."  Then  the 
witnesses  come  to  life  again,  and  ascend  up  into  heaven 
in  a  cloud.  The  blast  of  the  seventh  trumpet  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  proclamation  of  triumph.  "The  kingdoms 
of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord 
and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever." 

4.  The  chapters  which  follow  (12-14)  are  the  most 
difficult  in  the  book.  There  appears  a  woman,  with  a 
new-born  child,  attacked  by  a  red  dragon,  and  de- 
fended by  Michael  the  archangel.  Two  beasts  arise 
out  of  the  sea,  one  with  seven  heads,  suggesting  the 
seven  hills  of  Rome,  the  other  with  the  mystic  number 
six  hundred  and  three  score  and  six.  A  lamb  stands 
on  Mount  Sion,  with  the  multitude  of  the  redeemed 
about  him.  And  then  angels:  one  proclaiming  the 
everlasting  gospel, — another  crying  "Babylon  is  fallen, 
is  fallen,  that  great  city;"  a  third  denouncing  the  wor- 


340        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE    BIBLE 

shipers  of  the  beast,  and  praising  the  patience  of  the 
saints.  *T  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying  unto 
me.  Write,  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord 
from  henceforth.  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may 
rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works  do  follow 
them."  Other  angels  come  with  sharp  sickles  to  reap 
the  harvest  of  the  world. 

5.  After  this,  seven  angels  pour  out  on  the  earth 
the  vials  of  the  wrath  of  God  (15,  16)  :  on  the  earth, 
whence  comes  a  noisome  and  grievous  sore  on  all  men ; 
on  the  sea,  which  becomes  blood,  and  likewise,  with 
the  same  effect,  on  the  rivers ;  on  the  sun,  which  there- 
upon scorches  men  with  a  great  heat ;  on  the  kingdom 
of  the  beast,  where  men  gnaw  their  tongues  for  pain. 
The  sixth  angel  pours  his  vial  on  the  Euphrates,  out  of 
which  come  three  demon  frogs  to  gather  the  kings  of 
the  earth  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  the  Lord 
God  Almighty  in  the  field  of  Armageddon.  At  the 
pouring  of  the  seventh  vial  there  are  voices  and 
thunders  and  lightnings,  and  a  mighty  earthquake  and 
"great  Babylon  came  in  remembrance  before  God,  to 
give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of 
his  wrath." 

6.  Then  is  destroyed  that  mighty  oppressing  city 
which  spiritually  is  Babylon,  but  literally  is  Rome 
(17,18). 

And  after  these  things  I  saw  another  angel  come  down 
form  heaven,  having  great  power;  and  the  earth  was 
lightened  with  his  glory.  And  he  cried  mightily  with  a 
strong  voice,  saying: — "Babylon  the  great  is  fallen,  is 
fallen,  and  is  become  the  habitation  of  devils,  and  the 


THE   JOHANNINE    BOOKS  311 

hold  of  every  foul  spirit,  and  a  cage  of  every  unclean  and 
hateful  bird.  And  the  merchants  of  the  earth  shall  weep 
and  mourn  over  her ;  for  no  man  buyeth  their  merchan- 
dise any  more :  the  merchandise  of  gold,  and  silver,  and 
precious  stones,  and  of  pearls,  and  fine  linen,  and  purple, 
and  silk,  and  scarlet,  and  all  thyine  wood,  and  all  man- 
ner vessels  of  ivory,  and  all  manner  vessels  of  most 
precious  wood,  and  of  brass,  and  iron,  and  marble,  and 
cinnamon,  and  odours,  and  ointments,  and  frankincense, 
and  wine,  and  oil,  and  fine  flour,  and  wheat,  and  beasts, 
and  sheep,  and  horses,  and  chariots,  and  slaves,  and  souls 
of  men.  And  the  fruits  that  thy  soul  lusted  after  are 
departed  from  thee,  and  all  things  which  were  dainty  and 
goodly  are  departed  from  thee,  and  thou  shalt  find  them 
no  more  at  all.  The  merchants  of  these  things,  which 
were  made  rich  by  her,  shall  stand  afar  off  for  the  fear 
of  her  torment,  weeping  and  wailing,  and  saying : — 'Alas, 
alas,  that  great  city,  that  was  clothed  in  fine  linen,  and 
purple,  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold,  and  precious 
stones,  and  pearls !  For  in  one  hour  so  great  riches  is 
come  to  nought.'  And  every  shipmaster,  and  all  the  com- 
pany in  ships,  and  sailors,  and  as  many  as  trade  by  sea, 
stood  afar  off,  and  cried  when  they  saw  the  smoke  of 
her  burning,  saying: — 'What  city  is  like  unto  this  great 
city !'  And  they  cast  dust  on  their  heads,  and  cried,  weep- 
ing and  wailing,  saying: — 'Alas,  alas,  that  great  city, 
wherein  were  made  rich  all  that  had  ships  in  the  sea  by 
reason  of  her  costliness !  for  in  one  hour  is  she  made 
desolate.  Rejoice  over  her,  thou  heaven,  and  ye  holy 
apostles  and  prophets;  for  God  hath  avenged  you  on 
her.' » 

7.  And  over  against  this  account  of  the  destruction 
of  the  mystical  Babylon,  the  symbol  of  all  unrighteous 
power,  is  set  a  description  of  the  holy  city,  the  new 
Jerusalem,  the  symbol  of  the  new  heaven  and  the  new 
earth  (19-21). 

I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth:  for  the  first 
heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away;  and  there 


342        HOW    TO    KNOW    THE    BIBLE 

was  no  more  sea.  And  I  John  saw  the  holy  city,  new 
Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  pre- 
pared as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband.  And  I  heard 
a  great  voice  out  of  heaven  saying : — 

"Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  he 
will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and 
God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God.  And 
God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither 
shall  there  be  any  more  pain :  for  the  former  things  are 
passed  away."  And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said: — 
"Behold,  I  make  all  things  new." 

And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit  to  a  great  and 
high  mountain,  and  shewed  me  that  great  city,  the  holy 
Jerusalem,  descending  out  of  heaven  from  God,  having 
the  glory  of  God:  and  her  light  was  like  unto  a  stone 
most  precious,  even  like  a  jasper  stone,  clear  as  crystal; 
and  had  a  wall  great  and  high,  and  had  twelve  gates,  and 
at  the  gates  twelve  angels,  and  names  written  thereon, 
which  are  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel:  On  the  east  three  gates;  On  the  north 
three  gates ;  On  the  south  three  gates ;  And  on  the  west 
three  gates.  And  the  wall  of  the  city  had  twelve  founda- 
tions, and  in  them  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of 
the  Lamb.  And  he  that  talked  with  me  had  a  golden  reed 
to  measure  the  city,  and  the  gates  thereof,  and  the  wall 
thereof.  And  the  city  lieth  four-square,  and  the  length  is 
as  large  as  the  breadth :  and  he  measured  the  city  with 
the  reed,  twelve  thousand  furlongs.  The  length  and  the 
breadth  and  the  height  of  it  are  equal.  And  he  measured 
the  wall  thereof,  an  hundred  and  forty  and  four  cubits, 
according  to  the  measure  of  a  man,  that  is,  of  the  angel. 
And  the  building  of  the  wall  of  it  was  of  jasper :  and  the 
city  was  pure  gold,  like  unto  clear  glass.  And  the  founda- 
tions of  the  wall  of  the  city  were  garnished  with  all  man- 
ner of  precious  stones.  The  first  foundation  was  jasper ; 
the  second,  sapphire ;  the  third,  a  chalcedony ;  the  fourth, 
an  emerald ;  the  fifth,  sardonyx ;  the  sixth,  sardius ;  the 
seventh,  chrysolyte ;  the  eighth,  beryl ;  the  ninth,  a  topaz ; 


THE    JOHANNINE    BOOKS  343 

ttte  tenth,  a  chrysoprasus ;  the  eleventh,  a  jacinth;  the 
twelfth,  an  amethyst.  And  the  twelve  gates  were  twelve 
pearls;  every  several  gate  was  of  one  pearl:  and  the 
street  of  the  city  was  pure  gold,  as  it  were  transparent 
glass. 


XXII 

THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE  GRACE  OF  GOD 

IOOKING  back  now  over  the  books  of  this  library, 
^thus  bound  together  in  a  single  volume,  we  per- 
ceive that  they  are  characterized  by  a  wide  variety  of 
literary  forms.  Here  are  histories  and  biographies 
and  collections  of  letters;  lyric  and  dramatic  poems; 
speeches  and  sermons. 

Taking  these  writings  merely  as  pieces  of  literature, 
they  are  of  extraordinary  value  by  reason  of  the  skill 
with  which  they  are  translated  into  English.  Of  all 
translations  out  of  ancient  languages  into  any  kind  of 
modern  speech  this  is  by  far  the  best.  Tyndale  and 
Coverdale  who  did  it  worked  under  many  disad- 
vantages ;  Tyndale  especially  being  hindered  by  adverse 
conditions  of  haste,  and  change  of  place,  and  constant 
peril  of  his  life.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  scholars 
who  revised  the  translation  in  the  reign  of  King 
James  I,  and  the  scholars  who  revised  it  again  in  the 
reign  of  Queen  Victoria,  found  so  little  need  of  change. 

Tyndale  and  Coverdale  lived,  indeed,  at  a  time  when 
the  English  language  was  spoken  with  such  purity, 
simplicity  and  dignity  as  no  subsequent  age  has 
equaled.  But  it  was  to  them  that  these  qualities  were 
in  great  measure  due.     They  determined  the  language 

344 


THE   LIBRARY  345 

in  which  Shakespeare  and  Milton  wrote.  This  they 
were  enabled  to  do  because  in  their  day  printing  was 
invented.  Thus  they  not  only  made  a  book  which 
multitudes  of  people  desired  to  read,  but  the  new  press 
met  that  desire  and  put  the  book  into  the  people's 
hands.  The  words  and  phrases  of  Tyndale  and 
Coverdale  became  a  national  possession.  They  were 
read  in  the  ears  of  the  people  every  Sunday,  and 
learned  by  heart,  and  taught  to  children.  They  rescued 
the  English  language  out  of  provincial  diversity,  and 
made  the  English  of  the  Bible  the  standard  of  universal 
use.  In  spite  of  all  the  changes  and  differences  of  four 
centuries,  we  still  speak  and  write, — whenever  we  do 
these  things  well, — in  the  manner  of  the  English  Bible. 

This  achievement  of  Tyndale  and  Coverdale  was 
made  possible  by  the  complete  sincerity  of  their  pur- 
pose. Their  one  sole  intention  was  to  get  the  Bible 
into  the  mind  and  heart  of  England.  They  had  no 
literary  ambition,  no  desire  to  put  themselves  forward 
for  praise  or  profit.  Herein  they  were  in  the  spirit  of 
the  men  whose  writings  they  translated,  who  so  sub- 
ordinated themselves  to  their  message  that  the  names 
of  many  of  them  are  unknown,  or  are  only  guessed  at. 
They  had  no  pride  of  authorship.  They  were  there- 
fore free  from  many  temptations  to  artificiality  and 
elaboration.  It  was  easy  for  them  to  be  simple,  and 
to  choose  plain  and  enduring  words. 

This  they  did  also  because  they  had  in  mind  the 
plain  people.  They  hoped  that  as  a  result  of  their 
labors  the  words  of  the  Bible  would  be  recited  by  the 
farmer  as  he  followed  the  plow,  and  sung  by  the 


346        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

farmer's  wife  as  she  went  about  her  household  work. 
Scholars  and  educated  persons  would  continue  to  read 
the  Bible  in  Latin.  The  English  Bible  was  not  for 
them.  Tyndale  and  Coverdale,  accordingly,  chose 
words  of  Saxon  derivation  in  preference  to  words  of 
Latin  derivation,  and  preserved  the  brevity  and  direct- 
ness of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  originals.  They  made 
the  prophets  and  apostles  speak  plain  English. 

When  scholars  distinguish,  as  for  example  in  the 
Acts,  between  "translation"  Greek  and  other  Greek, 
they  detect  the  fact  of  translation  by  certain  qualities 
of  awkwardness  and  stiffness  in  the  sentences.  There 
is  a  lack  of  spontaneity  and  freedom.  No  such  in- 
feriorities appear  in  the  English  Bible.  This  is  "trans- 
lation" English,  but  it  is  written  with  so  much  sym- 
pathy and  understanding,  and  so  much  of  the  writer's 
heart  is  put  into  it,  that  it  is  not  only  as  good  as  the 
original,  but  sometimes  better.  Indeed,  there  are  parts 
of  the  English  Bible,  especially  the  Gospels,  in  which 
the  homeliness  and  unconventionality  of  the  original  is 
somewhat  obscured  by  the  unfailing  stateliness  of  the 
translation.  Not  only  religion  but  literature  is  the 
loser  by  any  neglect  of  the  English  Bible  in  the  educa- 
tion of  youth.  Only  to  read  these  splendid  sentences, 
to  get  the  cadence  and  melody  of  them,  to  attend  to 
their  words  and  phrases,  pure  and  undefiled  and  chosen 
with  unfailing  skill,  is  to  enter  into  the  privilege  of  a 
high  discipline  in  the  art  of  writing.  Our  chief  men 
of  letters  have  learned  their  art  in  this  school,  often 
by  the  process  of  committing  passages  of  these  books 
to  memory.    They  have  perceived,  from  the  point  of 


THE    LIBRARY  347 

view  of  literature,  that  the  EngHsh  Bible  is  the  supreme 
English  book. 

The  men  who  made  it,  like  the  men  whose  writings 
they  translated,  were  intent  on  religion.  They  cared 
for  nothing  else.  They  were  of  the  mind  of  St.  Paul 
when  he  said,  "Whatsoever  things  were  written  afore- 
time were  written  for  our  learning,  that  we  through 
patience  and  comfort  of  the  scriptures  might  have 
hope."  They  found  these  books  "profitable  for  doc- 
trine, for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness."  They  believed  that  those  who  read 
them  aright  would  thereby  become  "wise  unto  salva- 
tion." They  accounted  the  Bible  as  one  of  the  means 
of  grace.  Out  of  it  the  minister  was  to  instruct  the 
people;  in  it  the  people  diligently  reading  would  find 
the  minister's  instruction  confirmed  or  corrected;  by 
means  of  it  both  minister  and  people  would  grow  in 
grace  and  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God. 

The  translators  of  these  writings  into  English  knew 
very  well  that  they  belong  for  the  most  part  to  the 
literature  of  protest  and  revolution.  It  was  for  that 
reason  that  they  set  about  translating  them,  and  for 
that  reason  that  the  authorities  of  church  and  state 
tried  at  first  to  stop  them. 

The  great  men  of  the  Old  Testament  are  the 
prophets,  who  in  almost  every  instance  spoke  for  the 
minority,  opposed  themselves  to  the  established  order, 
and  were  obnoxious  to  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
authorities.  They  are  represented  by  Amos,  who 
reports  God  as  saying  of  the  state,  "The  high  places  of 
Isaac  shall  be  desolate,  and  the  sanctuaries  of  Israel 


348        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

shall  be  laid  waste,  and  I  will  arise  against  the  house 
of  Jeroboam  with  the  sword";  and  as  saying  of  the 
church,  'T  hate,  I  despise  your  feast  days,  and  I  take 
no  delight  in  your  solemn  assemblies ;  I  will  not  accept 
your  sacrifices ;  I  will  shut  my  ears  to  the  music  of  your 
services." 

The  great  men  of  the  New  Testament  are  the 
apostles,  who  defied  the  state,  saying,  "Whether  it  be 
right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken  unto  you  more 
than  unto  God,  judge  ye" ;  and  who  separated  from  the 
church,  saying,  "We  know  very  well  what  the  church 
says,  and  upon  what  texts  of  the  Bible  it  bases  its 
declaration,  'Except  ye  keep  the  law  of  Moses  ye 
cannot  be  saved,'  but  it  seems  good  to  us  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  prefer  the  testimony  of  present  experi- 
ence and  the  call  of  new  conditions  before  all  the 
canons  and  rubrics,  and  precedents  and  traditions  of 
the  past."  And  the  supreme  saint  and  hero,  about 
whom  the  whole  Bible  is  centered,  is  one  who  was 
formally  rejected,  and  deliberately  put  to  death,  by  the 
official  action  of  the  church  and  the  state  combined. 
The  Bible  is  a  dangerous  and  dynamic  book,  radical 
and  revolutionary,  essentially  democratic,  and  puts  all 
conservatisms  in  peril.  Thus  it  is  an  armory  for  the 
forces  of  militant  progress. 

The  Bible  belongs  not  only  to  the  literature  of  revo- 
lution but  to  the  literature  of  defeat.  The  prophets 
were  persistently  and  almost  unfailingly  defeated. 
For  example,  the  mission  of  Amos  and  Hosea  was  to 
stir  the  northern  kingdom  to  repentance  and  amend- 
ment, but  they  were  not  successful.     They  preached 


THE   LIBRARY  349 

their  tremendous  sermons  without  producing  any  con- 
siderable effect.  Jesus  Christ  was  defeated.  Paul 
was  defeated:  the  conservative  brethren  silenced  him, 
got  him  sent  to  prison,  thence  to  Rome  where  he  was 
beheaded.  Not  only  this,  but  the  people  of  God  were 
defeated.  The  latter  part  of  the  Old  Testament, 
especially  the  writings  of  the  prophets,  the  book  of  Job, 
and  many  of  the  psalms,  were  written  under  conditions 
of  invasion  and  deportation.  It  had  been  possible  to 
say,  as  in  Deuteronomy,  "We  shall  be  delivered  at  last, 
and  our  adversaries  shall  be  cast  down  and  miserably 
punished,  because  their  cause  is  unjust  and  God  is  on 
the  side  of  the  righteous,"  but  the  time  came  when  that 
could  be  said  no  longer.  At  least,  if  hope  remained,  it 
shone  dimly  on  the  far  horizon,  as  a  vision  to  be 
realized  in  the  remote  future.  The  situation  was  that 
of  a  world  war,  in  which  the  aggressors  were  now  the 
Assyrians,  then  the  Chaldeans,  then  the  Persians,  the 
Greeks,  the  Romans,  first  one  vast  conqueror  and  then 
another,  all  of  them  pagan;  while  the  people  of  God, 
the  little  community  of  faithful  Jews,  passed  from 
bondage  to  bondage,  and  from  oppression  to  oppres- 
sion. These  conditions  presented  the  problem  of  pain 
tinder  all  the  circumstances  which  seem  to  make  its 
solution  by  faith  impossible.  How  can  we  believe  in  a 
righteous  God  who  does  not  help  the  righteous  ? 

But  the  Bible  which  thus  belongs  to  the  literature  of 
'defeat  belongs  also  to  the  literature  of  comfort.  It  is 
the  handbook  of  patience  and  comfort.  The  amazing 
fact  which  it  sets  forth  is  that  defeat  does  not  result 
in   disbelief.     These    defeated   people    say   with    the 


350       HOW  TO   KNOW  .THE   BIBLE 

psalmist,  **It  is  good  for  me  that  I  have  been  in 
trouble."  When  the  world  is  at  the  worst  and  blackest, 
they  cry  with  Job,  "Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust 
in  him/'  The  result  is  that  afflicted  people  in  all  sub- 
sequent times,  whether  in  individual  or  in  national 
disaster,  have  been  inspired  and  mightily  encouraged 
by  these  examples.  They  have  learned  from  the  Bible 
that  it  is  possible  to  descend  into  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  saying,  "I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  thou 
art  with  me."  When  there  is  no  peace  such  as  the 
world  can  give,  they  have  entered  into  the  benediction 
of  him  who  said,  "My  peace  I  give  unto  you."  The 
Bible  is  thus  a  treasury  of  consolation.  It  is  a  "refuge 
from  the  storm,  a  shadow  from  the  heat,  when  the 
blast  of  the  terrible  ones  is  as  a  storm  against  the 
wall."  The  wise  go  to  it,  and  read  in  it,  when  the 
way  of  Hfe  is  beset  with  difficulty  and  defeat. 

This  "comfort  of  the  Scriptures"  is  based  in  part 
upon  the  exaltation  of  the  spiritual  over  the  material 
side  of  life.  The  Bible  people,  as  we  accompany  them 
from  book  to  book  through  their  long  history,  attach 
less  and  less  importance  to  their  possessions.  They 
discover  by  experience  that  they  can  get  along  without 
them.  In  the  New  Testament  this  becomes  an  ac- 
cepted standard  of  living.  The  Son  of  Man  has  no 
place  to  lay  his  head;  neither  have  the  apostles  who 
follow  him.  They  are  poor  men,  who  when  night 
comes  sleep  under  the  protection  of  the  trees.  They 
do  not  complain  of  their  poverty:  they  prefer  it,  and 
advise  others  to  share  it,  like  a  privilege.  They  are 
independently  poor.     So  is  St.  Paul,  who  though  poor 


THE   LIBRARY  351 

is  making  many  rich,  and  though  having  nothing  yet 
possesses  all  things.  These  men  have  exchanged  the 
restricted  limits  of  walls  and  roof  for  the  illimitable 
freedom  of  the  round  horizon.  They  have  escaped  the 
temptations  and  anxieties  which  beset  the  owners  of 
possessions,  and  have  freed  themselves  from  manifold 
attacks  of  fear.  They  know  what  he  meant  who  said, 
"Be  not  afraid  of  them  that  kill  the  body,  and  after 
that  have  no  more  that  they  can  do.  But  I  will  fore- 
warn you  whom  ye  shall  fear:  fear  him,  which  after  he 
hath  killed  hath  power  to  cast  into  hell ;  yea,  I  say  unto 
you.  Fear  him."     They  feared  nobody  else. 

The  Bible  is  the  golden  book  of  noble  conduct.  Its 
unfailing  message  is  that  to  do  right  is  the  whole  of 
life.  There  are  long  periods,  and  long  books  describ- 
ing them,  when  the  standard  of  right  is  low,  and  things 
are  done  which  contradict  our  idea  of  the  will  of  God, 
but  this  is  because  man  is  a  progressive  being,  and 
comes  slowly  by  the  divine  tuition  of  experience  into 
better  knowledge  of  the  best.  The  history  of  these 
times  of  experiment  and  slow  education  is  to  be  read 
for  our  admonition  rather  than  for  our  example. 
Even  so,  the  record  is  full  of  encouragement,  for  it 
shows  how  the  race  has  come  on  out  of  the  ethics  of 
the  desert  and  the  wilderness  into  the  increasing  ex- 
cellences of  settled  and  civilized  life,  to  enter  at  last 
into  the  new  way  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Here 
the  ideals  of  conduct  reach  their  height,  toward  which 
mankind  still  climbs  with  many  falls  and  failures.  By 
this  new  standard,  which  is  set  forth  not  only  in  the 
words  but  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  all  of  the  precepts  o| 


352        HOW   TO    KNOW   THE   BIBLE 

the  past  are  to  be  tested.  We  can  not  imagine  a  loftier 
ideal  of  social  conduct  than  is  contained  in  his  com- 
mandment, "That  ye  love  one  another  as  I  have  loved 
you." 

In  the  Bible  this  life,  even  when  it  is  lived  imper- 
fectly, is  in  the  presence  of  God.  The  Bible  people, 
even  of  those  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  which  seem 
farthest  removed  from  what  we  now  understand  to  be 
right  and  true,  are  constantly  conscious  of  God.  In 
the  best  instincts  which  they  have,  no  matter  how  mis- 
taken, they  hear  the  voice  of  God.  We  are  troubled, 
as  we  read,  by  the  serene  confidence  with  which  they 
cite  the  divine  approval  for  acts  which  we  know  to  be 
against  the  perfect  will  of  God.  It  annoys  us  to  find 
them  appealing  so  confidently  to  the  divine  sanction  of 
that  which  we  know  to  be  wrong.  We  perceive  that 
the  Old  Testament  idea  of  God  differs  from  our  idea. 
But  the  fine  thing  is  that  they  were  conscious  of  God 
at  all.  They  were  unfailingly  conscious  of  him. 
They  desired  to  please  him.  Thus  it  was  that  they 
became  a  people  whose  place  in  religion  was  like  the 
place  of  the  Greeks  in  art,  and  of  the  Romans  in  law; 
they  were  at  the  same  time  the  most  moral  and  the 
most  religious  of  all  nations.  They  grew  in  grace  by 
the  discipline  of  living  as  in  the  divine  presence.  Thus 
they  produced  this  library  of  the  Bible,  the  most  sin- 
cere, high-minded,  brave-hearted,  reverent  and  re- 
ligious collection  of  books  which  has  ever  been  made  by 
any  people. 

The  reading  of  these  books  will  make  us  sharers  of 
their  spirit.    Here  we  will  be  admitted  to  the  high 


THE    LIBRARY  353 

company  not  only  of  saints  and  heroes  but  of  plain 
people  whose  supreme  thought  is  of  God,  whose  lives 
are  lived  in  the  sight  of  God.  They  are  in  constant 
contact  with  the  invisible  world,  from  which  they  re- 
ceive the  benedictions  of  grace.  They  have  the  secret 
of  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth.  They  are 
strengthened  against  temptation,  and  directed  in  per- 
plexity, and  find  comfort  in  the  midst  of  extraordinary 
and  continued  afflictions.  Here  are  the  prayers  which 
they  prayed,  providing  words  for  our  prayers;  and 
the  praises  in  which  they  glorified  God;  and  the  pre- 
cepts which  they  tried  to  follow.  And  here,  especially, 
the  flower  of  their  religion,  is  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom 
the  supreme  ideal  of  the  good  life  is  revealed.  To 
attend  to  his  words,  and  to  enter  into  some  measure  of 
his  spirit,  is  to  attain  salvation,  which  means  the  good 
health  of  the  soul,  both  in  this  life  and  in  the  life  to 
come. 


THE   END 


INDEX 


INDEX 

Ahab  and  Elijah,  97-102. 

Ai,  siege  of,  70,  71. 

Amos :    his  prophecies,  105-107 ;  the  prophet  and  the  priest,  107- 

109. 
Apocrypha,  213,  215. 
Apostles,  Acts  of,  257-263. 

Baal,  strife  against,  92,  102. 
Babylon  (-Rome),  fall  of,  340,  341. 
Balaam,  Oracles  of,  59-61. 
Baruch,  the  prophet,  218. 
Bel  and  the  Dragon,  216. 

Carmel,  Elijah  on,  98,  99. 

Charity,  Paul's  praise  of,  287. 

Church,  beginning  of,  257-259. 

Colossians,  Epistle  to,  301-303. 

Corinthians  :  First  Epistle  to,  280-291 ;  Second  Epistle  to,  291-294. 

Coverdale,  the  translator,  7. 

D  in  Pentateuchal  Alphabet,  34-37. 

Daniel:  Book  of,  164-167;  in  story  of  Susanna,  215;  in  story  of 

Bel  and  the  Dragon,  216. 
Dead,  resurrection  of,  288,  289. 
Deborah,  Song  of,  56. 

Deuteronomy:  discovery  of,  34;  problem  of  pain  in,  7Z, 
Diatessaron,  ZZ, 
Divisions  in  Corinthian  church,  280,  281. 

E  and  J  in  Pentateuchal  Alphabet,  43-47. 

Ecclesiastes,  Book  of,  199-205. 

Elijah  and  Ahab,  97-102. 

Elisha  in  Moab,  15. 

End  of  the  World,  67,  269. 

Ephesians,  Epistle  to.  303-305. 

Esdras,  Books  of,  216,  217. 

Esther,  story  of,  162. 

Ezekiel,  his  prophecies,  144-148. 

Faith:  definition  of,  276-278;  in  Hebrews,  319-321. 

Galatians,  Epistle  to,  269-271. 
Gilgamesh,  Epic  of,  66. 
Gog  from  Magog,  147. 

357 


358  INDEX 

Golden  Age,  121-123. 

Golden  Century,  104. 

Good  Samaritan,  parable  of,  251. 

Gospels,  their  similarity,  223,  224. 

H  in  Pentateuchal  Alphabet,  29. 
Habakkuk :  his  prophecies,  130-132 ;  Ode  of,  170-172. 
Haggai,  his  prophecies,  152,  153,  155. 
Hannah,  Song  of,  168. 
Hebrews,  Epistle  to,  316-322. 
Historians :   as  prophets,  74-76 ;  at  work,  95,  96. 
Histories :  the  O.  T.  series,  3,  84 ;  differences,  86,  87,  89,  90,  95. 
History,  O.  T.,  the  three  eras,  97,  103,  104. 

Hosea:  his  prophecies,  109-112;  his  doctrine  of  the  love  of  God, 
110-112. 

Immanuel  and  Ahaz,  113. 
Imprecatory  psalms,  12-14. 

Inspiration:  in  O.  T.,  22;  in  N.  T.,  24;  verbal,  28;  vital,  29. 
Inspired  builders,  26 ;  adventurers,  27. 

Isaiah:  first,  his  prophecies,  115,  117-121;  second,  125,  126;  his 
prophecies,  149-151. 

J  and  E  in  Pentateuchal  Alphabet,  43-47. 

Jacob,  Blessing  of,  62. 

James  and  John,  and  the  New  Spirit,  16. 

James,  Epistle  of,  309-312. 

Jasher,  Book  of,  49-51. 

Jehu  against  Baal,  102. 

Jeremiah:  his  prophecies,  132-137;  dictating,  138-140;  biography 
of,  140-143. 

Jerusalem,  the  New,  341-343. 

Job,  Book  of,  206-212. 

Joel,  his  prophecies,  159-161. 

John,  Gospel  of:  its  authorship,  324-326;  its  relation  to  other 
gospels,  326-328;  its  testimony  to  divinity  of  Christ,  328- 
331;  Epistles  of,  332-334;  Revelation  of,  334-343. 

Jonah:  story  of,  163,  164;  Prayer  of,  169,  170. 

Joshua,  describing  invasion  of  Canaan,  76-78. 

Jude,  Epistle  of,  312-331. 

Judges,  describing  invasion  of  Canaan,  78-80. 

Judith,  story  of,  219. 

Lamech,  Song  of,  53. 
Lamentations,  Book  of,  172-176. 
Leviticus,  read  aloud  by  Ezra,  Z7. 
Liberty  and  responsibility,  282. 
Lord's  Supper,  the,  284,  285. 

Luke:  the  evangelist,  250,  256;  the  making  of  his  Gospel,  251; 
the  nine  new  chapters,  251-254;  the  Social  Gospel,  254. 


INDEX  359! 

Maccabees,  Books  of,  218,  219. 

Magnificat,  255. 

Malachi,  his  prophecies,  153,  154. 

Manasses,  Prayer  of,  215. 

Mark :   the  evangehst,  225,  226 ;  his  Gospel,  226-236. 

Marriage,  Paul's  discussion  of,  281,  282. 

Matthew:    the   evangelist,  238;   his   Gospel,  239-249;  compared 

with  Mark,  239. 
Micah,  his  prophecies,  114-117. 
Monopoly  of  Grace,  271. 

Moses  :   Song  of,  53 ;  Blessing  of,  62;  Second  Song  of,  64. 
Mount,  Sermon  on,  240-247. 

Naboth  and  Elijah,  100-102. 
Nahum,  his  prophecies,  128-130. 
Noah,  in  Epic  of  Gilgamesh,  67. 

Obadiah,  his  prophecies,  144. 

Omissions  in  second  series  of  histories,  90,  91. 

P  in  Pentateuchal  Alphabet,  42,  43. 

Papias,  his  evidence,  224. 

Paul:    his  preparation,  259;  his  conversion,  260;  his  mission  to 

the   Gentiles,  260-262;   the  arrest  of,   262,   263,  297,   298; 

Epistles  of,  264. 
Peter:  and  the  church,  247,  248;  Epistles  of,  312-315;  in  Gospel  of 

Mark,  226-233.  - 
Philemon,  Epistle  to,  299,  300. 
Philippians,  Epistle  to,  305-307. 
Prodigal  Son,  Parable  of,  253,  254. 
Proverbs,  Book  of,  191-198. 
Psalms :   imprecatory,  12-14 ;  wedding,  180,  181 ;  problem  of  pain 

in,  182-185;  five  books  of,  185,  187;  acrostic,  188. 

R  in  Pentateuchal  Alphabet,  48. 

Rehoboam,  and  the  revolt  of  the  north,  92-94. 

Religion  and  morality,  12 ;  and  science,  10.  * 

Revelation,  Book  of,  334-343 ;  occasion  of,  336. 

Rich  Man  and  Lazarus,  Parable  of,  252. 

Romans,  Epistle  to,  272-278. 

Ruth,  story  of,  162. 

Saul  and  Jonathan,  elegy  over,  51. 

Sc3^hians  invading,  127. 

Septuagint,  5. 

Solomon:   folly  of,  92;  Song  of,  176-180;  Wisdom  of,  220-222. 

Suffering  Servant,  The,  123-125. 

Susanna,  story  of,  215. 

Thessalonians,  Epistles  to,  265-269. 
Three  Children,  Song  of,  215. 


360  INDEX 

Timothy,  Epistles  to,  307,  308. 
Titus,  Epistle  to,  307. 
Tobit,  story  of,  219,  220. 
Tongues,  speaking  with,  23,  285. 
Tyndale,  the  translator,  7. 

Vulgate,  6. 

Wars  of  the  Lord,  49. 

Wise  Men,  189-191. 

Women :  to  have  heads  covered,  283,  284 ;  to  keep  silence,  286, 

Zechariah,  his  prophecies,  156-158. 
Zephaniah,  his  prophecies,  127,  128. 


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